Comfort
by starzee
Summary: Set after the season 3 episode with the Mikaelson ball but Damon doesn't hook up with Rebekah. Damon needs a friend and he finds one where he never expected to. Mainly friendship but there is some romance in it near the end...
1. Chapter 1

I don't own The Vampire Diaries.

A/N: This is set after the season 3 episode of the ball but Damon doesn't hook-up with Rebekah after Elena tells him that his love is a problem for her.

This story is finished, I just have to edit the other chapters. There are seven chapters in total, so it's not a long story, its just a short look into what I think would happen if Damon let Caroline be his friend. It's mainly friendship, hurt/comfort and there's a tiny bit of romance near the end because I can't help myself but the main point of this story isn't a big romance and the romance is understated and simple for a change. The point is Damon learning how to trust and letting another person see him at his most vulnerable while learning to accept that she wouldn't ever hurt him...

* * *

Comfort

Chapter 1

* * *

She'd seen a different side to Klaus, but it was the other side that worried her. She saw how easily he'd gotten pissed at her when she was blunt – she was worried how him supposedly 'fancying' her would affect her friends. She was sure that he'd no doubt make people suffer over it and she just didn't know what to do. She couldn't tell Bonnie... Bonnie would tell _everyone _and Bonnie's judgemental ways would end up making the situation worse. She couldn't tell Elena... Elena would just get herself in trouble again. She couldn't tell her mother... her mother would freak. She was pretty sure the only person she could ask advice regarding what she should do was – not that she particularly wanted to speak to him about it – Damon.

Caroline made her way over to the boarding house only to find Damon lugging boxes towards his car. He shot her an annoyed look when he caught sight of her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked and she gathered that he clearly didn't want anyone to see him doing what he was doing.

"I have a Klaus problem and figured that you'd be the only rational person to talk to about it." She said and he looked a little surprised as he dumped the box into his trunk.

"You caught me a day too late. I don't care what Klaus does anymore." He retorted and she was confused.

"You're leaving?" She asked and he nodded. "Why?" She tested.

"I need a vacation." He replied. Caroline wondered if maybe her absence would make Klaus forget his little crush and not bother her friends. Caroline also seemed to click that by 'vacation' he meant leaving permanently.

"Can I come?" She requested and he stared at her in a little bit of disbelief.

"Why?" He asked like it was the craziest thing he'd ever heard.

"I need to learn how to be a vampire in the real world." Caroline said and he faltered a little. He remembered what he'd said to her once: _I live in the real world where vampires burn in the sun_. He figured that she was using his own line against him.

"So?" He arched a brow at her and she sighed.

"Please don't make me learn from Stefan." She bid softly and he rolled his eyes though he did see her point – she wouldn't last a day in the real world if she was learning from Stefan. Damon thought about it – taking her around the world and teaching her how to fend for herself and about vampire politics would be an excellent distraction from _she-who-shall-not-be-named_. He walked up to her and looked her in the eyes.

"You can come on three conditions." Damon began and she was a little surprised that he was allowing her to go with him.

"Which are?" She asked.

"One, you listen to me and do as I say." He stated and she nodded.

"Within reason." She accepted and he cocked an eyebrow at that.

"Meaning?" He inquired.

"Meaning I'm not going to like... drain babies or torture a kitten or something. Your instructions have to be reasonable." She elaborated and he thought about that.

"First of all, I wouldn't do either of those things and second, it'll all be within reason." He agreed.

"Okay, I accept." She nodded.

"Two, you can't be boring or broody. I'm going to have actual _fun_ and I'll ditch you if you nag at me." He cautioned and she giggled.

"Fine." She accepted amused.

"Three, you have no contact with anyone from here until I'm finished training you." Damon concluded surprising her. She thought about that for a moment.

"How long would that be?" She examined.

"A year or two." He answered and she'd actually expected it to be longer. Caroline knew that it would suck not to speak to her friends and mother but she was a vampire and they weren't and she needed to learn.

"Okay, fine." She agreed and he was a little surprised at that. "Wait." She said as an afterthought.

"What?" He asked.

"I get to call my mom on her birthday and Christmas." She negotiated and he nodded – that was fair.

"You can call her on your birthday too." He added and she smiled surprised.

"Okay." She agreed.

"I have room in the car for two more boxes so go grab two boxes and fill them up with the stuff you want to take with you, leave a letter for your mother and I'll pick you up in an hour." Damon coached.

"Should I say in the letter that I went with you?" She queried.

"Tell your mother that you left because it's not safe here, tell her she needs to leave too but don't say you went with me. Say you'll contact her when you can and she isn't to worry because you're fine. Tell her not to tell anyone else and just say you went to visit a family member or something for a while." He instructed.

"Got it." She replied. "No letters for anyone else?" She asked.

"If Bonnie knew you were doing this, she'd try to stop you, so no. No letters for anyone else." He denied.

"Okay, where are the boxes?" She asked.

"In the living room." He pointed towards the house and she darted in and was back in the space of a blink.

"One hour." She said and he nodded. "You swear you'll come get me?" She asked him.

"Yes." He confirmed.

* * *

Caroline managed to organise the boxes so that she got quite a lot of stuff into them. One was just clothes, shoes and accessories and the other was personal items that she wanted to keep, including her photo albums. She wrote her mother a letter and left it in their 'secret spot' so that her mother knew that it was her choice to leave. She wasn't as sad to be leaving as she thought she would be. She would miss Tyler but in retrospect, it was probably for the best considering they weren't on the same page emotionally.

She was a little surprised when Damon _actually _showed up an hour later. She'd kind of expected him to ditch her. She was a little nervous at the thought of being alone with him for a couple of years but she wasn't afraid of him so she pushed her nerves away. She was surprised that he was letting her go with him but she figured that maybe he didn't want to be alone – neither did she.

"Where to first?" Caroline asked after he'd passed the Mystic Falls sign. They'd been silent until that point.

"Tijuana." He answered and she looked surprised.

"So vacation first?" She tested and he nodded. "Are you driving the whole way?" She asked and he shrugged.

"Might as well." He replied and she sighed.

"Damon? Since we're going to be travelling together, you're really going to just have to be blunt and tell me when you don't feeling like talking because I can't really tell the difference between you being normal and you not wanting to talk." She said and he couldn't help a chuckle at her being blunt. "So... talking or no talking right now?" She asked and he thought about it.

"No talking." He decided.

"Okay." She replied with a shrug then pulled a book out of her bag, got herself comfortable in the seat and started reading. Damon was starting to think this might be a good idea – taking Blondie with him – especially if she was going to be cool and give him space while _also _being there if he wanted company.

* * *

Damon was shocked three hours later that she hadn't said another word, she'd just read and left him alone. He'd been _sure _that her 'no talking' thing would last for about five minutes.

"Crap." Caroline said out of nowhere as she looked up at him.

"Hmm?" He asked surprised at her finally speaking.

"I forgot blood bags." She muttered as she looked back down at her book and he chuckled.

"Fresh feeding only on this trip." He declared and she looked at him to assess if he was serious or not – but of course he was. She thought about it and it's not like she hadn't expected it, so she didn't comment and just went back to her book. Damon was kind of shocked that she didn't put up the slightest fight, she didn't argue – she just... accepted it. "What made you think of that anyway? Are you hungry?" He questioned.

"No, I'm fine. I was just thinking over what I forgot to take with me." She shrugged then went back to her book.

* * *

They'd been driving for seven hours when they were approaching Nashville and Damon couldn't be assed driving anymore. It was almost 8pm so Damon could feel the burn in his gums for blood and his own particular thirst for alcohol kicking in. He was pretty shocked that Caroline hadn't been talking his ear off at _all_. She'd basically just read all day. She'd finished the novel she'd been reading then moved on to another, giving him the quiet space he needed.

"I want to stop in Nashville for the night." He commented as they approached and she looked up at him surprised. She'd expected them to drive all night.

"Are we staying in a hotel or a foreclosure?" She asked and he looked mildly surprised that she'd even thought of the foreclosure thing.

"Hotel's easier for one night." He replied. "By the way." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little sim card pack and handed it to her.

"Thanks." She acknowledged then opened it and put it in her phone and put her usual one in her wallet. He took out his phone and held it out to her.

"Type in the number so I have it." He instructed her and she took his phone then copied the number from the pack and dialled it so that his new number came up on her phone then she hung up and handed it back to him. "What did you save it as?" He asked.

"You have me down as Blondie so I put it in as Blondie New." She explained and he chuckled. He quite liked that she wasn't all uptight about his nickname thing. "Are you just going to a bar?" She asked him and he nodded.

"Yeah, why?" Damon queried.

"Mind if I go explore the city?" She asked and he was a little surprised that she wouldn't mind doing that by herself.

"Just be careful. I'll no doubt be too drunk to rescue you." He smirked at her and she chuckled.

"Okay." She agreed amused.

* * *

Damon compelled them two hotel rooms then went down to the bar next door to the hotel while Caroline took off into the city. She had a nice time looking around Nashville and as it neared midnight she headed back to the hotel and went into the bar only to find Damon slumped in a booth looking _bombed_. She got herself a drink then went over to his booth and sat across from him.

"Hey, Blondie." Damon greeted with a smirk.

"Hey." She smiled.

"Have fun?" He asked and she nodded.

"I took half of an evening tour." She replied and he smirked.

"Why only half?" He asked.

"Because the next youngest person on the tour was like 45. That and country music isn't really my thing." She shrugged and he chuckled. Damon was eyeing her for a moment.

"You look hot." He slurred and she laughed.

"Wow. How trashed _are _you?" She teased and he smirked. "Drink up and go get some sleep." She instructed and he sighed.

"Thought you weren't going to be a buzz-kill." He reminded drunkenly and she shot him an amused look.

"Tell you what, if you can walk to the bar and back in a straight line, I'll get up on the table and do the Macarena." She vowed and he laughed in surprise.

"No problem." He pointed to her then tried to stand up. He put his hand on the edge of the table and hauled himself up on his feet. The room spun and he looked at Caroline sceptically. He was much drunker than he'd originally anticipated. "Might be a problem." He reassessed and she giggled. She downed her drink then stood up.

"Come on." She said amused then put her arm around his lower back.

"I can walk by myself." He grumped and she arched an eyebrow at him.

"You sure about that?" She asked and he thought about it – it didn't seem probable in retrospect. He rolled his eyes then put his arm over her shoulders and she walked them out of the bar. She helped him all the way to his room and Damon was a bit surprised that she _would _help him like that. He gave her his room key on the way and she let them in then towed him over to the bed and sat him down. "What time do you want to leave tomorrow?"

"Noon." Damon replied as he kicked off his boots.

"Want me to wake you up?" Caroline offered and he nodded.

"11am." He replied as he shrugged off his jacket.

"Okay. I'll see you in the morning." She accepted and he stopped what he was doing and looked at her.

"Are you going to bed?" He inquired and she nodded.

"Yeah." She confirmed and he was quiet for a moment.

"Do you want to stay in here?" He asked and she was a little surprised that he clearly didn't want to be alone.

"That's probably not the best idea." She stated softly and he stared into her eyes.

"Why?" He asked quietly and Caroline knew that he was hurting and needed comfort but she _also _knew that it was _Damon_. She crouched down in front of him so that they were at eye level.

"Because when you sober up that would piss you off and we're getting along just fine." She said with a small caring smile as she rubbed his arm softly hoping he would know that it's not that she _wouldn't _stay. He gave her a little smirk for that.

"I forget that you actually know me sometimes." Damon remarked gently surprising her. Caroline saw all over his face that he really didn't want her to leave but he refused to ask her to stay.

"So what about a compromise?" She asked and he cocked an eyebrow for explanation. "How about I stay until you pass out then tomorrow we pretend I didn't?" She suggested and he gave her a small smile for that and a nod. "Good. Then get your boozy butt in bed." She retorted and he chuckled at her bossing him around. She walked around to the other side and kicked her shoes off and dumped her jacket then crawled onto the bed and lay down. Damon pulled his shirt and jeans off then climbed under the covers. He lay on his side away from her and Caroline knew that he wouldn't like it on some level but she figured in for a penny, in for a pound – so she rolled on her side and put one arm over his waist and cuddled in behind him. She felt him tense immediately underneath her arm.

"That's not what I..."

"Oh, hush and go to sleep." She mumbled and he was still stiff from the comforting contact but after a few seconds he relaxed and Caroline was happy that he was accepting what she was trying to tell him – she'd be there for him. She waited until he'd been asleep for a full half hour before she silently slipped out of his room and went to her own.

* * *

Damon woke up to a knock on his door and his head felt like it was being repeatedly kicked and he felt dizzy. He reluctantly got out of bed as he knew that it could really only be her.

"Hangover." He muttered to himself as he trudged to the door of the hotel room. He opened it and found Caroline standing there. "What?" Damon muttered.

"Figured you'd be hungover to high hell so I brought coffee and breakfast." She disclosed and he looked surprised.

"Breakfast?" He asked sceptically and she smirked then reached her arm over and dragged a girl over to stand next to her.

"Breakfast." She pointed to the girl and Damon was visibly very surprised that she brought him a human to feed on. He smirked at her for that - maybe Blondie was a _little _cool...

"Come in then." He chuckled. Caroline pulled the compelled girl into the room and Damon closed the door behind them. Caroline pushed the girl over to Damon then wandered away from them to set the coffee down and Damon sunk his fangs into the girl's neck. He fed from the girl until her heartbeat slowed then he reluctantly pulled away. He could already feel his hangover dissipating.

"It's black with one sugar, right?" Caroline asked absently and Damon looked at her curiously. He'd genuinely forgotten how much time he'd spent with the blonde when she was human.

"Right." He agreed and she saw that he was going to be awkward.

"Cool, well, I'll get rid of breakfast. See you at the car at noon." She replied then walked over to the girl and started to direct her out of the room. Damon was kind of shocked that she seemed to 'get' him.

"Uh... Caroline?" Damon asked and she turned to look at him. "About last night..." He started.

"I dumped your drunken ass in your room." She said seriously and he took a kind of long breath as he processed the fact she wasn't going to make him talk everything to death.

"Thanks for coffee and..." He pointed to the girl and she smiled.

"I'm going to the market down the street to get chocolate for the car. Want anything?" She asked and he smirked.

"M&Ms, please." He requested.

"Peanut butter, right?" She asked and he was surprised yet again that she would remember that.

"Right." He agreed and she nodded.

"Cool. Text me if you think of anything else." She bid then towed the girl out of the room leaving Damon contemplating everything. He was beginning to see that taking her with him was a great idea. She didn't expect him to be any different and he found that really refreshing.

* * *

Damon was _really _surprised when Caroline sat filling in a little crossword puzzle book two hours into their trip. He'd been peering over and he was a little shocked at how easily she was able to fill it in. He didn't think she could ever know about half of the things she gave the correct answers on.

"Damon?" She asked out of the blue and he glanced at her. "What's a judicial proceeding with six letters ending in 'n'?" She asked him and he smirked.

"Action." Damon answered and she smiled.

"Thanks." She acknowledged then pencilled in the answer.

"Why are you doing crossword puzzles?" He queried and she shrugged.

"Always liked them." Caroline replied. "Plus it passes time." She added as an afterthought.

"Stuck on anything else?" He asked curiously and she looked it over.

"He could be both best man and groom, six letters, second letter 's'." She replied and Damon thought about it.

"Ostler." He replied and she grinned.

"Well, that makes that other one obvious." She mumbled to herself and he couldn't help the little chuckle that escaped at how cute she was sometimes.

* * *

They arrived into Fort Worth just after 9pm that evening and they got motel rooms next door to each other on the outskirts since Caroline wasn't bothered about looking around the city that night. She decided to stay and get drunk with Damon instead. It was a rundown bar but it was surprisingly busy. Caroline chatted to other patrons while Damon drank heavily. He glanced at her every once in a while and he noticed that everyone she spoke to seemed to thoroughly enjoy her company. Everyone smiled genuinely at her.

He was starting to see that it wasn't her that was the problem… it was _him_. He'd always thought she was annoying but he tried to remember what it was that annoyed him about her and he couldn't pinpoint anything. He realised that nothing about her annoyed him and he was just a dick who never actually gave her a chance. He'd decided that he didn't like her before he'd even spoken to her and he knew that wasn't fair.

Damon was soon drunker than he had been the night before. He could barely stand and the bartender cut him off. He couldn't even get his compulsion to work, he was that drunk. He glanced around the bar and couldn't see Caroline anywhere. He decided that he had to call her and see where she went because he had to go to sleep and he wouldn't be able to sleep if he didn't know that she was alright. Damon managed to get himself outside of the bar and he walked down the alley at the side of the bar to get back to the motel while he tried to dial her number.

Before he could even register footsteps, he found himself slammed up against the alley wall. He couldn't even process the action before a stake was plunged into his chest and he gasped in shock. So, that was the moment he was going to die. He'd kind of always expected that when he finally met his end it would be Stefan driving the stake so it really surprised him that it was two human goon-looking men who seemed to be wannabe 'vampire hunters' or something. He realised that they'd missed but the wood still seared pain through his entire central cavity and he was gasping in pain. It was blinding. He didn't have a hope in hell in trying to get away...


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own The Vampire Diaries.

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to **Damon's Vampire Barbie **for her continual support - I really really appreciated it.

I hope you like this chapter!

* * *

Comfort

Chapter 2

* * *

Caroline had seen Damon leaving the bar like the drunken oaf that he was and she rolled her eyes. He was stumbling all over the place and she knew that he was like _wasted_. She sighed, finished her drink, bid the people she'd been talking to a good night then she followed him out the door.

When she got into the alley, her jaw dropped when she saw Damon up against the wall with a stake in his chest and two enormous men standing in front of him. Fury coursed through her veins and before she could form a thought to make a decision, in a blink she was behind them. She tapped one of them on the shoulder and when he turned around she slammed her fist upwards under his jaw snapping his neck backwards and he collapsed dead on the ground. Damon's jaw dropped at that.

The other spun around with a stake in his hand and Caroline chuckled – like _this _fool was ever going to be able to _stake _her…

"Vampire." He hissed.

"No shit, you ass. But unlike him I'm not a drunken idiot." Caroline smirked and his eyes widened. In a blink she had his stake in her hand and she stuck it into his neck and he spluttered and gurgled while she pulled out the stake in Damon's chest. "Hurry up and feed, you drunken ass." She instructed Damon annoyed. He stared at her a little wide-eyed for being so badass then he tried to move but he was drunk and weak and in pain so he just groaned. Caroline rolled her eyes then manoeuvred the hunter in front of Damon and pulled the stake out of his neck and blood gushed. Damon moved his mouth to the wound and drank deeply until the man's heart stopped then Caroline tossed him aside – rationally, she knew that their deaths weren't necessary but something inside of her had just snapped at the sight of them hurting Damon. She couldn't explain it. She wondered if it was a vampire thing – well, that's what she was going with to deal with it anyway…

"Thank you." Damon acknowledged to her quietly and she smirked.

"I kind of like you being the damsel for a change." She quipped and he chuckled – she _would _say something like that. "So, babysitting drunk Damon… is that my new job for the foreseeable future?" She asked with a devious smile and he rolled his eyes amused.

"You don't have to, you know." He pointed out as he felt his body healing. "I can take care of myself." He added and she giggled.

"Yeah, I saw that what with the stake in your chest and everything." She agreed teasingly and he shot her a look.

"I was so about to handle that." He informed like it was possible when it wasn't and she smiled.

"Yes, Damon. I know." She agreed and he smirked at her getting him again. "Think you've healed enough to make it to your room while I get rid of tweedledum and tweedledee?" She asked motioning to the men. Damon looked at her curiously – she was going to get rid of the bodies? By herself? What?

"Just leave them. There aren't any bite marks." He pointed out.

"Yeah, but in the alley they'll be found quickly and we don't know how many other supposed 'hunters' there are lurking around." She countered and Damon conceded she had a point. He was far too drunk to really be making the decisions. "Want me to walk you round to the room?" She offered caringly and he shot her a look.

"I am 145 years older than you in vampire years." He retorted and she smirked.

"Yes, and you're drunk beyond belief." She observed and he deadpanned at her arguing with him. "Fine, but if you get yourself staked, I will look so hot driving your car." She cautioned and he gaped at her in shock. She knew that he'd _hate _the idea of that.

"Fine, come with me then." He muttered in annoyance and she looked at him amused. He was still slumped against the wall and she didn't have time to wait for him to stumble to the room, so she reached forward and took his hand and he looked like he was about to argue so she moved them at vampire speed to the motel door that was his room. "God, warn me next time." He complained holding the wall as his head was all dizzy and she rolled her eyes.

"Keys." She requested and he sighed. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the motel room key and handed it to her because it would be so embarrassing if he stood there for like five minutes trying to get the key in the lock. Caroline unlocked the door then towed him inside and closed the door behind him. "You're covered in blood. Want to have a shower?" She asked and he nodded. She walked into the bathroom and put the shower on and adjusted it so that it was warm but not too warm. She remembered the rough temperature that he liked. She went back into his room and Damon was busy fiddling with the buttons on his shirt. She watched him do that for like a minute and a half then she got annoyed with him considering there was a big hole in the shirt so he would have to throw it out anyway. "Oh for God's sake, Damon." Caroline complained then stepped up to him and ripped his shirt from his body and he blinked in surprise. "What? There was a hole in it anyway." She motioned to it and he chuckled at her reasoning. "Can you get the rest off? Or do you need help with that?" She examined and he shot her an annoyed look because he wasn't a _baby_, dammit.

"I am a grown man…"

"Yeah, yeah." Caroline cut him off. At vampire speed she unbuttoned his jeans then pushed him so that he was sitting on the bed. She crouched down and pulled his shoes off in a blink then his jeans before he even had time to comment. She was back on her feet in the space of about two seconds then she pulled him up by the arm and towed him to the bathroom.

"You just want to see me naked." He quipped and she giggled at his giant ego.

"I've already seen you naked. Nothing new." She reminded and he shot her a look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked annoyed and she stifled a giggle at his ego.

"It means – go have a shower. I'll bring you someone to feed from after I ditch the bodies or you'll be dying of a hangover in the morning." Caroline explained and he looked at her curiously as he stood next to the shower in his boxers, holding himself up against the sink.

"Why are you helping me?" Damon probed bluntly.

"Because I'm glad they missed." She answered sincerely and he swallowed as he thought about that. "I'll be back in a few minutes." She assured and he nodded then she was gone in a blink and he heard the motel room close. He slid his boxers down then put his hand under the water and he was very surprised at the temperature – it was perfect. He sighed. He really had to apologise to Blondie – he'd clearly missed out on something that could have been amazing because he was such a fucking idiot.

* * *

The shower sobered him up a little and when he'd washed the blood from his body, he stepped out and wrapped the towel Caroline had left out for him around his waist. He used the second towel to dry off his upper body and hair then he heard the door of the motel room open and he popped his head out only to see Caroline bringing a girl into the room. He walked out and Caroline pushed the girl towards him and he saw that there was a bite mark on her neck already.

"You fed from her?" Damon tested curiously.

"Just checking for vervain. Another guy I found was on vervain. This clearly is _not _the place for vampires to stay for long." She quipped and he smirked at her. He leaned forward and drank from the girl's neck wound then pierced his finger on a fang and closed the wound.

"Thanks." He acknowledged to Caroline who gave him a small smile – she was marginally amused by the fact he clearly felt awkward. He obviously didn't really know how to deal with the fact someone who wasn't Stefan saved his life.

"Let's just get some sleep and get the hell out of this area early." Caroline bid and he nodded amused.

"Definitely." He agreed.

"Cool. Did you sober up a little?" She checked and he nodded. "Alright." She accepted then took the girl's arm. "See you in the morning. Night."

"Night." Damon bid quietly then she towed the girl out of the room and closed the door. Damon looked at the door for a moment – he kind of wished that he'd lied and told her that he was still really drunk. Maybe she would have stayed then…

* * *

The following morning, Damon woke up to the sound of the shower being put on. He focused his hearing and heard that it was Caroline next door. The previous night's events replayed in his mind and truthfully he was a little embarrassed that he'd been _so _drunk, he hadn't even been able to get undressed. She'd saved his life. She'd _killed _for him. She'd protected him and taken care of him – and for what? He never did anything to deserve such nice treatment from her. He gave her crap constantly and made her feel bad – he felt so terrible. He didn't know what to do to make it better. All he knew was that he _had _to make it better. He had to try and make it up to her because she was being amazing. She knew him so well already and that kind of shocked him. She 'got' him and didn't expect him to be different. Didn't _want _him to be different. _That _was the shocker.

Damon got lost in thought and about twenty minutes later there was a knock on his room door. He hopped out of bed and wandered over to the door. He opened it and there stood Caroline.

"Hey." Caroline greeted then handed him a coffee. "Think you'll be ready to go soon?" She asked taking a sip of hers.

"Mmhmm. Five minutes." Damon agreed and she smiled.

"Alright, I'll get you at the car." She replied.

"Thanks for the coffee." He stated sincerely.

"No problem." She chirped.

"And… last night." He added and she smiled.

"Don't worry about it." She waved her hand unconcerned then turned on her heel and disappeared in a blink leaving Damon looking confused. He closed the door and took a sip from the coffee – also perfect. He rolled his eyes – of course it was perfect. How on earth was she just so _nice _all the time?

He realised then that since they left Mystic Falls, he'd fed three times... And all three times it was her that brought him a human. Both mornings since they left, she showed up with a morning coffee. _He _was supposed to be teaching _her_ yet she was completely looking after herself _and _looking after him. He realised that in his drunken state, he'd left her to deal with the disposal of two dead _hunters_. His eyes widened at the fact she'd been out by herself in an area that had _hunters_ and he'd just… _left _her. He slapped his hand to his forehead at his own stupidity.

* * *

They got into the car and Damon drove them out of the parking lot. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that Caroline seemed to want to say something but wasn't sure if she could.

"What?" He queried cocking an eyebrow.

"Well…" She started. "I've noticed that you don't seem to like listening to music in the car." She began and he snickered.

"Oh, God. You want to put some awful CD on, don't you?" He teased and she cracked a smile at his attitude – she was glad that he hadn't gone all weird on her.

"Well, no. But I do like music in the car regardless of what it is and I was in the gift store earlier and they had a 70s punk compilation CD and I remembered you saying once that your favourite decade for music was the 70s… so… I bought it in the hope that we could compromise." She explained and his eyes widened a tiny bit at her just being _so _damn nice all the time.

"Barbie, you have to stop that." He mumbled.

"Stop what?" She tested worriedly and he felt like a dick for making her so worried to piss him off.

"You're just… so…_ nice_ all the time." He said and she looked surprised.

"What's wrong with that?" She tested confused and he sighed.

"Because _I _am _not _nice." He muttered and she cracked a small chuckle.

"You have been nice since we left Mystic Falls, though." Caroline pointed out and he looked at her confused.

"What? How do you figure?" He questioned and she rolled her eyes.

"Look, I don't know what kind of crap you got from Elena but _I _don't want you to be different. And how you've been is your version of nice." She said and he shot her a small smile for always just accepting him.

"But… _everyone _wants me to be different. Why don't you?" He inquired and she was surprised that he would ask that in sobriety.

"Honestly?" She asked and he nodded. "Well, I like that you're just _you_ regardless of what people think. Yes, you're an ass and totally difficult but you're also interesting and fun and if you were just like everyone else, well… that would be ridiculously boring." She explained and he chuckled in surprise. "Now, can I put the CD on or not?" She asked and he smirked.

"Tell you what." He initiated amused. "From now on, you can control the music and play whatever you want." He offered and her eyes widened.

"Why?" She asked confused and he glanced over at her with a serious expression.

"Because you saved my life and I'm crap at talking about stuff, so I can't really think of any other way of saying that I'm thankful." He said and she smiled. The fact he would even say that meant a lot to her and she _did _understand him. He didn't need to go into a big speech with her because she already _knew _that he was thankful for that and that he appreciated her looking after him.

"Still, you can educate me on all things 70s punk." She remarked pulling out the CD and he chuckled at that – he saw that she was trying to make an effort with him and he wanted to do so as well… he just didn't know _how_. She stuck the CD in and the first song that played was 'Blitzkrieg Bop' by the Ramones and he cracked a grin. "Take it you like this band?" She asked him amused and he chuckled.

"Understatement." He smirked at her.

"Did you meet them?" She asked and he smiled and nodded.

"A bunch of times." He agreed.

* * *

They were in the car for almost twelve hours on the drive to Tucson and they'd talked quite a lot, surprisingly. Damon told her about the bands that were on the CD, she asked him questions about the time period, he told her stories – they both actually enjoyed chatting during the drive. Caroline requested that they stay in a hotel instead, so Damon pulled in at the Ramada Foothills Tucson hotel.

Damon was surprised when Caroline asked if he just wanted to share a room instead of getting two and he agreed and was particularly surprised when Caroline compelled them a deluxe suite. They went up to the room to dump their overnight bags then Caroline opened up her bag then pulled out a dress from it. Damon was surprised when she pulled her top off while he was in the room but Caroline didn't see the big deal considering they'd slept together previously. She pulled off her jeans then put the dress on and took out heels. She touched up her makeup while Damon freshened up. When she was finished, she noticed a little pamphlet on the dresser with details of the restaurants and bars in the area. She looked over it just as Damon came out of the bathroom.

"What's that?" He queried.

"Bars and restaurants in the area." Caroline replied absently as she read it.

"Anything interesting?" He asked.

"I feel like human food. I'm going to the Italian restaurant for dinner." She commented. "Want to come?" She asked and he shrugged.

"Might as well." He smirked and she nodded then they left, though she took the little pamphlet with her as no doubt Damon would want to get wasted after.

* * *

They went to the little restaurant called Caruso and got a table. Caroline ordered the shrimp cocktail to start and the meat-filled cannelloni with cheese manicotti for mains – Damon was a little surprised at that. He'd kind of expected her to order pizza or spaghetti or something. He had antipasto to start and Adriatic style shrimp and clams for his main course. They had a bottle of red wine with their meal. Afterwards, Caroline had tiramisu and Damon had strawberry gelato for dessert.

When dinner was finished, they left the restaurant and went to the bar down the street from their hotel. Caroline ordered herself a strong fruity cocktail and Damon settled for his usual bourbon…


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own The Vampire Diaries.

A/N: Thanks to everyone reading this. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Oh, and in this story, I've written Damon the way I personally believe that he would behave if he felt like he could really trust someone, so if you think he's OOC, well, you don't have to tell me that because I personally don't think so. This is a trust-building and bonding chapter, so no action or drama.

* * *

Comfort

Chapter 3

* * *

"So, how long is the drive from here to Tijuana?" Caroline queried taking a sip of her drink.

"Probably about four hours." Damon replied surprising her and she smiled.

"That's great." She remarked pleased and he smirked.

"You actually _want _to go there?" He asked amused and she nodded.

"This morning I went on my phone and looked up Tijuana, so that I'd have a better idea of the place and it sounds great. The nightlife is supposed to be excellent and apparently it's a great place for shopping, it's warm and it's close to the ocean. What's not to like?" She asked and he chuckled at her being so cute.

"Fair enough." He accepted.

"Do you want to be there for a while?" She queried and he shrugged.

"Couple of weeks, maybe?" He put forward and she nodded though he noticed the small frown that appeared on her face for just a split second before she covered it. "What?" He asked curiously.

"Hmm?" She tested.

"You totally frowned." He pointed out and she shrugged.

"Just ignore me." She mumbled then took a sip and his eyebrows furrowed.

"No, spit it out, Blondie." He encouraged and she sighed.

"Look… I swear… I'm really not trying to be neurotic." She started and he smirked at her amused.

"Just ask." He pushed.

"Have you given any thought to where you want to go after that?" She queried and he shot her an amused look. He understood her concern considering it was the first time she'd left home.

"Not really." He shook his head. "I don't know if I really feel like travelling anymore. I'm already bored of travelling and it's only been a couple of days." He admitted.

"So, you might want to stay in one place for a little while?" She quizzed and he shrugged and nodded.

"Any requests?" Damon inquired.

"For places to stay?" She tested and he nodded. Caroline thought about it for a moment then really couldn't answer him. "Well, to be entirely honest, this is the farthest I've ever been from Virginia, so I really don't have a place in mind. I'll like anywhere that's not Virginia." She shrugged and he smirked at that.

"But you want to stay in a warm climate, right?" He asked and she smiled.

"That would be cool." She agreed. "But again, I don't mind. I can buy a parka if you want to go somewhere cold." She quipped and he laughed a little at her trying to be all 'flexible', knowing that it wasn't really in her nature to 'go with the flow'.

"I like warm weather too. Why don't we do Tijuana for a few weeks then look for somewhere to live for a while down near Cabo?" He suggested and she grinned.

"I like it." Caroline agreed and he chuckled at her little happy expression.

"You haven't asked why I picked Tijuana." He pointed out and she shrugged.

"I thought it was obvious." She countered.

"Meaning?" He asked.

"Partying, booze and girls in bikinis everywhere." Caroline replied and he laughed, he seriously hadn't expected that response.

"While that _is _a consideration, the main reason is the haggling." Damon smirked and she looked surprised.

"Haggling for what?" She examined.

"The shopping there, practically everywhere you go, you have to haggle for a price. When you have access to compulsion, life can get kind of boring, so the haggling has always been something I found entertaining." He explained and she smiled.

"Well, I'm not shopping in Tijuana then." She quipped and he looked at her confused.

"Why?" He tested amused.

"Because I'll get ridiculously overcharged by everyone. I haven't got a _clue _how to haggle. They'd give me a sap story and I wouldn't be able to do it." She said and he laughed at how adorable she could be at times – it honestly continually took him by surprise that she could be like that and still be a vampire.

"I'll take you shopping and show you how to haggle." He smirked and she was a little startled that he _would _do that.

* * *

At nearly 1am, Damon was well and truly drunk. Not quite as drunk as he was the night before but still really drunk. Caroline had been pacing herself as she knew that Damon _would _be drunk. She understood. She really did. Obviously something had happened in Mystic Falls that hurt him and he was trying to cope. She'd been so utterly _panicked _the night before when she saw the stake in his chest that she could help it – she'd decided that it was going to be her mission to take care of him. She knew that nobody _ever _took care of Damon, but she was going to. She was going to be the best friend that he'd ever had. Caroline knew that he would be resistant because he wouldn't like it but she wasn't going to give up – she was going to be the one person to _always _be there for him.

After seeing the stake in his chest, Caroline decided that Damon was going to be her priority. Everyone else had someone for that but he didn't, so she was going to be that person.

* * *

He had her by the arm when they walked back to the hotel as he wasn't exactly walking in a straight line. They made their way up to their suite. Caroline changed into her pyjamas while Damon stripped down to his boxers then climbed into the king-sized bed. Caroline brushed her teeth first then got in beside him on the other side. Damon turned to face her and she did the same, seeing that he clearly wanted to say something.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" He asked her hushed and she gave him a sad look at the fact he couldn't understand someone being kind for no reason anymore.

"Because I care about you." Caroline admitted and he stared at her.

"I know you do." He said because it was obvious that she did care about him. "But why? I don't deserve it." He reminded her ashamed and she sighed then reached up with her hand to softly brush back some hair from his forehead. She saw that he was not expecting the affectionate gesture but that he'd clearly enjoyed it – she gathered that he was no doubt starved for simple intimacy like that.

"Damon, you have to let it go." She soothed and his eyes widened to saucers.

"I tried to kill you." He whispered. "How can you say that?" He asked flabbergasted and she looked at him still with a soft and understanding expression.

"Did you really want to kill _me _at the time, or was it just everything else built up?" She examined and he didn't say anything because he couldn't contemplate her being so _understanding_.

"It wasn't you in particular." He mumbled unable to look her in the eyes and she nodded.

"And now?" She probed.

"Now what?" He tested.

"Would you kill me _now_?" She elaborated and he looked like he felt sick at the thought.

"Never." He swore and she nodded again.

"I know that." She replied soothingly. "So, you need to let it go." She bid.

"How can _you _let it go?" Damon asked confused.

"Because I understand from experience that people do stupid things when they're hurt or furious." She stated softly. "You have enough things to worry about. I'm not going to add to that." She lulled and he swallowed at that.

"I think you're the only person who cares about _me_. As in really me, not who they think I should be." He whispered and she gave him a sad look.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Damon." She promised, meaning it with her whole heart and he stared into her eyes – he saw that she meant it, though he was a little surprised that she knew what he meant when he didn't indicate that from what he said.

"I'm glad you came with me." He disclosed and she gave him a small smile.

"Well, I'll stay for as long as I'm welcome to." Caroline assured and he blinked in surprise understanding that she didn't want to ever leave him unless he wanted her gone.

"Really?" He asked softly and she nodded. She ran her hand down his cheek affectionately and he watched her analytically for that because he wasn't sure what something like that meant.

"Now get some sleep. We have haggling to do tomorrow." She winked at him and he smirked.

"Goodnight." He bid and she smiled then leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

"Night, Damon." She responded then snuggled into the bed to get herself comfortable while Damon's mind went to work in overdrive for the affection and everything she'd said. Caroline decided that slowly but surely, she was going to build it up and be very affectionate with him. She saw that he'd liked it – it was obvious that he didn't understand it – but he liked it and Caroline felt like Damon was a lost boy in a lot of ways and it kind of broke her heart. She decided that she was going to make sure that he knew what being cared for _meant_.

* * *

Damon woke up the following morning to a really nice smell. He sat up and saw Caroline over at the dining table setting the table from a small push trolley. He gathered that she'd clearly ordered room service. In sobriety, he was kind of embarrassed by the night before. He'd been far more candid with his thoughts and feelings than he normally would have been and he wasn't sure how to behave around her.

"Morning." Caroline chirped. "I had a notion for breakfast. You want?"

"Uh… what did you get?" Damon inquired.

"Chocolate chip pancakes with syrup, French toast with ham and cheese, and bacon and scrambled eggs." She answered and he looked surprised because all of it sounded great.

"Okay." He agreed.

"And there's coffee. Though, since it's a hotel it's probably just brown water." She muttered and he couldn't help a small chuckle at that. Damon got out of the bed and wandered over to the table and saw that she'd already set a place for him then sat down across from her and she was serving herself some pancakes – she didn't seem remotely uncomfortable or bothered by their conversation the night before, so he decided to just act like it didn't happen.

"What time is it?" Damon queried.

"Just after 10am." Caroline replied pouring herself a coffee. She added in three sugars, mixed it then tried it and scowled at nothing in particular which made him snicker.

"Brown water?" He smirked.

"Think it's like brown water mixed with coffee." She complained. "Whatever. There's a coffee place down the street." She murmured pushing the drink away from her a little and he chuckled. "By the way, are we staying in a hotel in Tijuana?" She remembered then cut a piece of pancake and put it in her mouth just as Damon served himself some eggs, bacon and French toast.

"No, before I left Mystic Falls, I called and reserved a vacation apartment." He informed surprising her, though she liked the sound of that better than a hotel. "It's two bedrooms." He commented and she nodded.

* * *

They got to Tijuana in the early afternoon and Damon drove them straight to the vacation apartment. It was in a great location right in the middle of town. They carted their boxes up to the apartment and Caroline unpacked her clothes into the small wardrobe in her room. She wasn't finished when Damon started to nag a bit about going haggling, so she quickly changed into shorts, sandals and a strappy top because _man _it was warm then they left the apartment and walked down to the main shopping area that was only minutes away from their new home.

Caroline watched Damon haggle in Spanish for things he wanted – Damon didn't know it, but Caroline spoke fluent Spanish too. They'd been at that for a while when Caroline spotted a small temp office. Damon was mid-haggle, so she wandered into the temp office without him noticing her absence. Caroline figured that if they were going to be there for a while, a little temporary job would be necessary because she didn't have a lot of money and she sure as hell wasn't letting Damon pay for her, so she went in and signed up with them for two jobs.

One was a bar job at a lively club down the street and the other was an office temp at a travel agency. The way it worked was that she would receive a text message asking if she was available for the shift and she would reply yes or no, then they would text her back to confirm it. Her first bar shift would be the following evening as she had to do the quick training. Because she had fluent English and Spanish, she would be getting paid almost double as there were a lot of Americans that came to visit Tijuana and they desperately needed staff who spoke English too. Her office training was going to be the following morning at 10am for two hours then she would be able to take shifts for that too.

After she signed up, she went back outside and saw that Damon was _still _haggling for the same thing but he'd gotten the price down significantly. Caroline understood why he found it entertaining, though it wasn't really _her _thing. He eventually got the jacket he'd been haggling for, for next to nothing and he was very pleased with himself. Damon then asked her if there was anything _she _wanted and she just said that she didn't have a lot of clothes compatible with the weather, so they went to a women's clothing area, Caroline picked a bunch of things and Damon did the haggling again and she ended up getting practically a whole new wardrobe for the same amount a _top _would have cost her in Virginia. She was shocked at that and told Damon that she felt bad about it and he just chuckled and told her that it was all part of the fun.

They took their things back to the apartment at dinner time, had showers and got ready then went out to explore the nightlife. They went to a nightclub and Caroline danced with lots of people she met while Damon drank. They got separated eventually and Caroline didn't want to be late for her training the next day, so she left just after 2am to head back to the apartment. When she was walking home, she was pretty sure that she saw Damon getting laid in an alley but she didn't comment, instead she just hurried back to the apartment. She had a shower, pulled on her sleep shorts and tank then curled up in bed to get some sleep.

At just after 4am, her eyes opened sleepily as she'd felt something. She saw Damon lying next to her in her bed facing away from her. She figured that he kind of liked not being alone when he slept the night before – though, if the way he smelled was anything to go by, it was definitely him getting laid in the alley. She rolled on her side behind him and sleepily put her arm over him. He froze a little at the gesture but didn't say anything then eventually relaxed a little. She _was_ surprised when he held her hand that was over him but she didn't say anything and they just went to sleep without saying a word.

* * *

Damon groggily woke up at minutes after noon. He looked around and saw that he was in Caroline's room and he wanted to kick himself because he stank of booze and sex – and he'd gone to sleep beside her smelling like that. He felt like the biggest ass on the planet. He wasn't surprised that she wasn't in the bed – though, he _was _surprised at the memory of her cuddling him after he came in. He thought that maybe she'd been too tired to notice it then woke up and smelled it and was pissed because he couldn't hear her in the apartment. He bolted into the shower – though he still had the hangover from hell – then hurried back into her room and stripped the bed of the sheets and replaced it with the sheets from his bed that hadn't been slept in. He stuck the other sheets in the washing machine then realised that there was no washing detergent. He was about to go get dressed when the door opened and in wandered Caroline wearing grey formal trousers and a light pink top with her hair up and she had several grocery bags in one hand and two coffees in a tray in the other hand.

"Hey." She greeted happily – which shocked him, he thought that she'd be pissed. "I found this little tiny coffee shop and they have like _real _coffee. No brown water in sight." She let him know delighted and he couldn't help a tiny chuckle at that as he'd never met anyone who could get excited about something as trivial as coffee before. She set down the grocery bags then handed him a coffee.

"Thanks." Damon acknowledged.

"Oh, by the way, there weren't any dishwasher tablets or washing machine detergent, so I picked some up. If you don't like the detergent smell, just tell me and I'll go get something else." She stated absently as she put away the groceries she'd bought and he just gaped at her for being so _not _pissed at him.

"Uh… okay. Why are you dressed like that?" He queried.

"Oh. I got a job and my two hour training was today." She informed and his jaw fell open.

"What?" He asked shocked and she looked at him confused.

"It's only temping but my college fund is only going to go so far." She commented and he looked stunned.

"Doing what?" He examined confused and she smiled.

"This morning's training was for an office assistant in a travel agent and tonight's training is for bar staff at the club we went to last night." Caroline detailed.

"You got _two _jobs?" He asked in disbelief.

"Mmhmm. Apparently the tips are amazing at the bar job." She mentioned.

"Okay, but Caroline, when the hell did you do this?" He examined muddled as he couldn't remember being separated from her the day before.

"Oh. Yesterday when you were haggling for ages for that jacket, I saw a temp office and just went in." She shrugged as she put away food into the fridge. Damon was shocked that he'd been so busy haggling that he hadn't noticed her disappear to go get a _job_. She took the detergent over to the washing machine then looked confused. "What's in the machine?" She queried and he felt _highly _uncomfortable and embarrassed.

"Uh… your sheets." He disclosed and she stared at him blankly.

"Why?" She asked and he sighed.

"They smelled of…" He trailed off then she clicked and cracked up into laughter and his jaw dropped.

"You mean they smell of you getting laid in an alley?" She teased and his eyes bugged – he told her that? When the hell did he tell her that?

"Did I _tell_ you that?" He asked confused and she giggled.

"No. When I was walking back here I saw you." She smirked and he just _stared _at her.

"You're not pissed." He stated more than asked and she shot him an amused look.

"No." She denied amused. "Will you just relax?" She smiled. He was still highly confused. People got pissed at him for _everything_… and she just… didn't. He didn't get it. "By the way, I know you said fresh feeding only on this trip, but if you're going to be getting drunk every night…" She started then opened her handbag and fished out a blood bag. "Maybe we should keep a couple of these in the apartment for the morning." She smirked and he couldn't help a small laugh at how _surreal _this was.

"Thanks." He said as she handed it to him. She saw his expression then sighed.

"Look, I know you don't want to talk about stuff, but can you just… be yourself and have fun? I'm not going to get pissed at you, okay?" She requested and he looked at her curiously for that as he wasn't sure anyone had ever asked him to just be himself before.

"Okay." Damon agreed hesitantly because he was _still _waiting for her to yell at him.

"Good." She smiled. "I'm going down to the beach. Want to come?" She chirped as she put the other couple of bags in the fridge and he nodded – while he contemplated how Blondie got so cool…


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own The Vampire Diaries.

A/N: This is chapter 4 of 7, so not long to go. This story is a little different than how I usually write as there are time jumps and not as much detail because the only significance is looking at their potential connection whether that be friendship or more. Also, the events from the show will loosely happen but not in the same time scale. I just thought that I'd make that clear while I remember so as to avoid future questions about that.

I hope you enjoy and if you don't then please don't flame or send me insensitive messages because it just puts me off writing and this is fanfiction, not serious literature - it's just for fun. Please remember that.

* * *

Comfort

Chapter 4

* * *

Caroline did her evening training and someone had called in sick – and as a vampire she picked up skills ridiculously fast – so, they asked her to stay on and work the rest of the shift. The club was open until 6am but she finished at 2am as she'd started at 8pm. She hurried back to the apartment and was happy as could be as she'd earned a fortune in tips and had a blast working. She was paid $10 per hour, so she'd earned $60 for her shift and $271 in tips. Her office job paid her $12.50 per hour, so she was quite sure that she could make a good amount of money to save for anything she wanted or needed.

When she got into the apartment, Damon was lying on the couch just in boxers drunk off his ass. He'd been trying to wait up for her to make sure that she got back okay.

"Hey." She greeted cheerfully as she closed the door.

"How'd it go?" He queried and she flashed him a grin.

"Great! I made $331." She informed excitedly and his jaw fell slightly.

"What? Really?" He questioned, shocked that she could make that much working behind a bar.

"Yeah. $271 in tips." She elaborated pleased. "I swear I'm going to work like every night." She commented and he looked at her curiously as she was aware that he wasn't going to ever need a job as he had plenty of money and he wondered why she felt like she had to work when they were kind of stuck together for the foreseeable future.

"I have money. You don't need to work." He pointed out and she shrugged.

"It was fun." She countered because she wasn't getting into some big finance discussion with him when he was plastered. She wandered into her room then stripped off her clothes and pulled her pyjamas on. Just as she came out of her bathroom after brushing her teeth, she noticed Damon leaning against her door frame. She climbed into her bed and saw him watching – she didn't understand why he was being all weird about it when he clearly wanted to sleep next to her. "Coming?" She asked lifting up the covers on his and he swallowed. He froze in place for a second but he saw in her expression only kindness, she wasn't mocking him at _all_… so he trudged over then climbed in beside her. He turned to lie on his side away from her and this time he wasn't surprised when she put her arm over him and snuggled into his back. Caroline noticed that he didn't freeze this time. He instantly held her hand this time and neither of them said a word as they drifted off to sleep…

* * *

A week and a half later, Damon woke up in Caroline's bed – he hadn't slept in his room yet – and wandered out into the open plan living room that the kitchen was attached to and his jaw dropped. Caroline had set up a clothes horse and the washing was hanging on it to dry – Damon could see _his _clothes on it… She'd _washed his clothes_. What?

"Morning." She greeted.

"Did you wash my clothes?" He blurted shocked with no greeting.

"Yeah, so?" She examined from where she was standing making a pot of coffee in the kitchen.

"I can wash my own clothes." He retorted and she turned around to face him then put her hand on her hip and he saw that she looked kind of pissed.

"Oh, _really_?" She asked him. "I woke up this morning and had to open the window because the huge pile of dirty laundry on the floor of your room was stinking out the apartment! So, you might be _able _to wash your own clothes but you clearly weren't going to _do _it. So, from now on, you will put your alcohol and sex reeking clothes in _that _hamper…" She pointed at the hamper she'd clearly gone out to buy. "And _I _will wash them because I'm not waking up in the morning to the smell of old whiskey, sweat and cheap perfume, is that understood, Salvatore?" She scolded him irritated and he couldn't help it… He cracked up into laughter – he didn't think he'd _ever _been told off like that before and he was _so _amused. "Don't laugh at me." She warned him. "It's disgusting. So, use the damn hamper and shut the hell up." She cautioned and he was shaking with laughter.

"Okay." He managed to get out and she shot him a look.

"Now, here's your coffee." She said, putting it down on the table and he chuckled.

"When did you become my wife?" He teased and she scowled at him.

"Oh, if I was your wife, I'd kick your ass for that disgusting pile. You know what I found _under _the pile?" She probed irritated.

"No…" He smirked.

"A cockroach!" She exclaimed and his eyes widened and he was trying so hard not to laugh.

"That's… terrible." He shook trying to contain his laughter.

"Ass." She muttered then poured her own coffee and he was _so _amused. He was getting really used to her and her bluntness and he found that he genuinely _loved _spending time with her. "Now, what do you want for breakfast?" She asked him as she'd made them breakfast every morning that she wasn't working since they got there.

"Anything you feel like." He smirked.

"Fine, omelettes it is." She mumbled and he was highly entertained by the little blonde.

Though, after breakfast when he'd been for a shower, he put his boxers and towel in the hamper as she'd instructed…

* * *

They'd been in Tijuana for just over three weeks when one evening Caroline let herself into the apartment at just after 1am after working at the bar. She was supposed to be finishing at 3am and when she shut the door Damon came out of his room with the sheet around his waist and he was wide-eyed.

"What are you doing back so soon?" He tested looking like he was 'busted'… She looked at him confused then clicked and cracked up into laughter.

"I'll go back out." She replied amused by the big man whore that he was then slipped back out before he could counter it. She met up with one of the girls she worked with and they went for a couple of cocktails at a different bar then she went back to the apartment just after 3am when she should have been getting back. She found a very drunk and slightly worried looking Damon sitting on the couch.

"You didn't have to leave." He stated immediately. "I would have sent her away." He added and she smiled at him kindly as she could tell that he was a bit worried that she'd flip out about him hooking-up.

"Damon, stop worrying so much." She began. "The power went out at the club, that's why I was home early. Next time, just send me a text and I'll make sure I stay out for a little while longer." She assured sweetly then went into her room and his jaw was dropped – how was she just _so _cool all the time? She never asked him to change _anything _about himself. He, however, didn't want her to have to hear him getting laid, so he didn't want her walking in on that. He trudged back into his room and lay down and he listened to her brush her teeth, change into her pyjamas then she got into bed. He tossed and turned and couldn't get comfortable because his bed was cold and smelled like the girl from earlier and… _she _wasn't in it…

Caroline could hear him and was marginally amused by the fact he clearly couldn't sleep without her now. She was also mildly entertained by him thinking that he couldn't go sleep in beside her because of the girl. Though, she felt badly about that because her affections for him weren't conditional on his behaviour and she didn't know how to get him to see that. After about fifteen minutes, she really couldn't listen to it anymore.

"Damon?" She called.

"_Yeah?_" He replied softly.

"Just get in here and stop with the crap." She directed sleepily and there was silence for like fifteen seconds then she heard movement and he appeared at her door.

"Even after…" He trailed off and she sighed then lifted up the covers on 'his' side. He stared at her to see if she was kidding then moved to the bed and climbed in beside her. He turned to look at her and she saw it written all over his face that he was waiting for her to be angry with him or discard him. He was staring into her eyes and she felt so bad that he was so worried to accept her friendship and affection because she thought that he no doubt thought that she'd leave him eventually. She knew that he wouldn't like it on some level but she scooted towards him then put her arms around his neck and pulled him into her so that his face was tucked in under her chin. "What are you doing?" He whispered and she heard vulnerability in his tone and it broke her heart – she was starting to seriously _despise _Elena Gilbert for screwing him over so badly as Caroline saw and knew the real Damon – and he was great. She kissed his head and only pulled him a little closer and held him a little tighter. He was frozen in place but he didn't try to pull away, so she reached down and took his arm then pulled it over her waist so that he was snuggled into her.

"I'm not going anywhere. No matter what you do." She whispered back.

"You don't mean that." He said so quietly that she almost missed it. She wasn't entirely sure that he even meant to say it out loud as he was seriously drunk as was the norm now.

"Yeah, I do. I will _always _be there for you, Damon. And that's unconditional. I will _always _be your friend. You can trust me because I'll never hurt you." She promised then felt his arm over her tighten just a tiny bit – she hoped that he was maybe accepting what she was saying on some level…

* * *

The following morning, Damon woke up in Caroline's room and her bed smelled like booze and sex again and he felt like crap for that after she'd been so nice to him. He was _also _seriously embarrassed about his super vulnerable drunken moment. He didn't understand why she was being so caring – but he was beginning to feel like he _needed _it. That freaked him out. So, he got up and went out to the living room and found her in the kitchen.

"Morning. What do you want for breakfast?" She asked.

"Nothing. I'm going out." He muttered then went into his room and shut the door. Caroline instantly knew the problem because despite him not wanting that, she already _did _know him. So, she wasn't offended.

"You want coffee?" She called.

"_No._" She heard him grumble back and decided not to push it – she figured that he just needed some time to process it all. So, she made herself some breakfast then sat down at the table and started to eat it. She was almost done when he reappeared.

"Later." He mumbled then disappeared out the door and she sighed. She knew that he had issues on top of issues on top of issues on top of already being doubly heart-broken, so she wasn't going to push. She wasn't going to smother him. She was just going to be there for him if he needed her.

* * *

Caroline wasn't really surprised that he didn't come back that night. She got in from the club and his scent was so faint in the apartment that she knew that he hadn't been back. She got into bed and went to sleep. She didn't see him the following day either. She went to work at the office and was back by dinner time – still no sign of him. She was a little worried about him, but he was a vampire and he could take care of himself.

Caroline went out for a drink with a guy that she'd met and they had a really nice time together. They agreed to meet again the following evening as she wasn't working the next night either. She went to bed just after midnight and at 3.30am she felt a thud next to her and she sleepily opened her eyes to find a drunk Damon lying next to her, facing her direction. She was sad to see that his expression clearly said that he was expecting her to throw him out. So, she did the same as she had done two nights before. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him into her, his head against her chest tucked under her chin and his arm went around her waist without her having to put it there.

"Are you okay?" She whispered and he shook his head. She ran her hand softly through his hair and she felt him hold her a little tighter as he clearly liked that. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked and he shook his head again – she understood that he just wanted her to hold him, so she would. She pulled him a little tighter into her.

"I missed you." He whispered so quietly that she almost didn't hear him.

"I missed you too." She replied kissing his head.

"Goodnight." He whispered.

"Night, sweetie." She replied and he only held her tighter…

* * *

The following morning, Damon walked into the living room hesitantly as he didn't know how to behave with her after the night before – he'd spent the night before in a hotel and had only gone back because he'd _seriously _missed her – that and he was pretty sure he now couldn't sleep without her. He didn't know how she was going to react to him in sobriety at the fact he'd totally abandoned her overnight.

"Morning. What do you want for breakfast?" She asked as she made the coffee and he was surprised by her normal greeting.

"Uh… morning." He greeted a little awkwardly and she looked up at him hearing his hesitation. She saw on his face that he was prepared for her to yell at him. She walked up to him then reached up with her hand and pushed some hair back from his forehead. He watched her as she did that considering she had only really been affectionate with him when he was drunk.

"You really need a haircut." She commented and he smirked at her – he understood that she _wasn't _angry. "Want toast with scrambled eggs, cheese and bacon?" She asked, knowing that he loved that.

"Okay." He agreed and she gave him a smile then went back to the kitchen. He saw that she'd done another washing and their clothes were hanging up to dry. She poured two coffees, put one sugar in his and three in hers then set them on the table. He went and sat down at his usual spot and took a sip – perfect as always. He rolled his eyes. It wasn't fair that she was so damn perfect when he felt like he never could come anywhere close to that. "Caroline?" He asked softly and she turned around to look at him concerned.

"What's wrong?" She examined surprising him.

"What?" He asked confused.

"You always only call me my name if you're pissed or something's wrong." She pointed out and he smirked in surprise, understanding that she was just really used to the nicknames.

"Oh… uh… I… uh… I'm… sorry." He apologised awkwardly and she looked a bit taken aback.

"For what?" She queried.

"Leaving for the night without telling you." Damon answered ashamed and she gave him a smile.

"Stop worrying so much. You'll defy vampire rules and grow grey hair." She smirked and he chuckled because he couldn't help it. He understood that _she _understood him far better than he'd originally anticipated.

"Okay." He agreed and she smiled and nodded.

"Do you want the cheese mixed in with the scrambled egg or do you want it on the toast?" She queried.

"In the egg, please." He requested and she nodded then went back to doing what she was doing, leaving a small smile on his face. Maybe needing Blondie would be okay…

* * *

Two weeks later they'd been in Tijuana for almost seven weeks and Damon came into the apartment in the afternoon after he'd gone down to haggle for a little while only to find Caroline in his room just tucking in his bed sheets and he was a bit muddled at the fact his room was _ridiculously _clean.

"What are you doing?" Damon queried sceptically.

"Making your bed. What does it look like I'm doing?" Caroline quipped and he smirked at her little attitude.

"I can make my own bed." He retorted and she turned around and looked at him pissed and put her hand on her hip again and he knew that he was about to get another lecture.

"Is that so? You could have fooled me. There was this smell and it was driving me nuts, so I came in here and found like week old blood on the underside of one of the pillows and week old sweat, whiskey and perfume all over the sheets. Look, I know that boys are disgusting in general but I'm not living in an apartment that _smells_. So, either put your sheets in the hamper when they're dirty or I'm going to come into your room to make the bed because this isn't acceptable." She warned and he cracked up into laughter.

"Boys are disgusting?" He repeated with a cheeky grin because he was ridiculously amused.

"Well, you _are_." She retorted. "But now your bed is clean with fresh sheets, I vacuumed and I opened the window to let a little air circulate because _dear God _I don't know where you're picking up these skanks but you must be seriously wasted if you can't smell that when you take them in here." She remarked dryly and he laughed loudly at that.

"You really are like a little housewife." He teased and she shot him a look.

"If I was your wife, you'd be getting your ass kicked for those sheets." She muttered and he shook with laughter at her warning. He happened to spot his open closet then and his jaw dropped at the sight of all of the shirts that were hung up on hangers and were _ironed_.

"Did you _iron _my shirts?" He asked confused and she shrugged as she walked out of his room.

"The crinkly look you had going on was pissing me off." She muttered and he laughed. He opened his drawer out of curiosity and saw that everything was folded neatly and ironed. He saw that his bathroom door was open so he poked his head in and saw that the bathtub, shower, floor, mirror and sink area were _sparkling_ clean. He couldn't believe that she'd totally _cleaned_ his room and his bathroom. Though, he'd noticed that her room, bed and bathroom were always spotless, so he gathered that she liked things to be clean. When he went out into the living room, he saw her packing the dishwasher.

"Anything you want me to do?" He queried considering she was doing _everything_.

"Yes. Focus on not making a mess." She muttered and he chuckled.

"Okay." He accepted with a smirk – he was oddly enjoying being taken care of…


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own The Vampire Diaries.

A/N: Bit of angst and I'd like to remind everyone that there's 'love' and 'in love' - two different things.

Hope you like the chapter - only 2 to go! On a side note, the Spanish is from Google translate, so if it's not right, take it up with Google please.

And, yes, to the anonymous reviewer who tells me to update Restart on a regular basis, I will get to it, I promise. I haven't forgotten about it, I swear.

* * *

Comfort

Chapter 5

* * *

"I got you something." Damon said the next day without greeting and Caroline turned to look at him in surprise. He'd just randomly come in from being out all morning while she hung up the laundry.

"Why?" She queried doubtfully and he swallowed.

"Uh… because you're… uh…" He felt seriously awkward talking about stuff like this in sobriety and admitting what was _so_ obvious. "Because…" He took a deep breath. "You're taking care of me." He acknowledged and she looked surprised that he would say it in sobriety. "And… I wanted… to.. uh… say thank you." He mumbled then handed her a big bag. She looked inside then pulled out a box and was visibly surprised to see a laptop. A _really _good Apple Mac laptop. She thought that it was really sweet considering she'd mentioned that she was going to save up her tips and buy a laptop.

"Thank you." Caroline grinned at him then skipped over to him and gave him a hug. He was visibly surprised at her doing that but before he could hug her back, she kissed his cheek then skipped back to the laptop.

* * *

About a week later, Caroline's phone rang just as they'd literally _just_ finished breakfast together and she fished it out of her pocket then answered…

"Hello?" She greeted.

"_Hola, es André._" The male voice replied – obviously Damon was eavesdropping like the nosy bastard that he was. _(Hello, it's Andre.)_

"¡Hola! Pensé que no se volver a estar hasta mañana." She grinned and Damon's jaw dropped. He'd had no _idea _that she spoke Spanish – even after all this time together in Mexico… that, and he didn't know who the hell the guy was. _(Hi! I thought you weren't getting back until tomorrow.)_

"_El viaje fue corto. ¿Estás libre esta noche?_" He asked. _(The trip was cut short. Are you free tonight?)_

"Sí, pero estoy trabajando a las doce." She confirmed. _(Yes, but I'm working at twelve.)_

"_Cena?_" He suggested. _(Dinner?)_

"Grande. Nos encontraremos en la plaza a las ocho." She agreed. _(Great. I'll meet you in the square at eight.)_

"_No puedo esperar._" He said gently and she smiled. _(I can't wait.)_

"Ligue." She smirked and he chuckled then she hung up. _(Flirt.)_

"You can speak Spanish?" Damon asked shocked and she smiled and nodded.

"Mmhmm. My nanny was Mexican." She agreed absently then went back to the kitchen and took out a cleaning spray and started spraying the counters since she'd already put the plates in the sink.

"So… who's that?" Damon inquired as nonchalantly as he could muster – I mean, it's not like _he _cared who Blondie had dinner with… not quite sure why his gums were itching with the need to bite this guy to death…

"Just a guy I met a couple of weeks ago." She answered inattentively and he looked surprised – when did she meet this _guy_?

"When have you been seeing a guy?" Damon pushed confused.

"When you're busy." She responded, still distracted by her cleaning then got out a cloth and wiped down the counters.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He queried as she seemed to tell him about everything else.

"There's nothing to tell to be honest. We've gone out to dinner a couple of times and he's good company but that's it." She shrugged and he thought about that.

"Are you sleeping with him?" He asked curiously as he hadn't smelled anything anywhere that would indicate that.

"No." Caroline denied, shaking her head – still not looking at him, which was pissing him off.

"Are you going to?" He pushed and she giggled – when the hell did he ask her this many questions?

"I don't know." She shrugged with amusement all over her face at the realisation while he frowned, not looking at all satisfied by that response. Caroline understood that he was a little jealous. She didn't think that it was in a romantic way, but more of a possessive 'you're mine' kind of way considering they shared a bed every night and she saw him at his most vulnerable in a way she was sure nobody else ever had…

* * *

Damon was a little aloof with her for the rest of the day and she understood that he didn't like that she had a date – even if he refused to say that out loud. She went out for dinner with Andre then she went to work at the bar. She got off early at 3am as there weren't that many people in the club that night then went home. Damon was already in her bed, awake and staring at the ceiling when she got in – he was drunk as usual and surprisingly so was she. She'd been having drinks while she worked as a group of American guys on a bachelor weekend had bought her drinks when they were ordering.

"Hey." She greeted as she walked into her bedroom.

"You're back early." Damon commented.

"It wasn't busy." She shrugged. She pulled her top over her head, kicked her shoes off then pulled down her shorts, leaving her in just a baby blue and black bra and underwear set. Damon scanned her body though she didn't notice. She pulled on her sleep shorts then turned her back to the bed so as not to flash him and took her bra off. She pulled her sleep tank on then went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth. When she was done, she climbed into bed and Damon turned to face her.

Caroline was not even _remotely _surprised when he leaned forward and kissed her – she'd kind of been expecting it the way he'd been with her all day. She knew that he was acting out because he didn't want her to go anywhere – but she also knew that if she pushed him away, it would break the friendship that had been building between them and she didn't want to do that… so, she kissed him back.

His hand slipped up her top and covered her breast and his thumb ran over her nipple. His tongue mingled with hers and the kisses turned heated quickly. He was only in boxers and when he pulled her closer, she felt his hardness pressing up against her. He tugged up her top with a bit of force and she put her arms up and he pulled it over her head then his mouth moved to her nipple. His tongue swirled while his hands gripped her sides and Caroline felt kind of sad at the _need _he seemed to feel for her – there was this _urgency_ in his actions and she really didn't have the heart to push him away. She wouldn't do that to him anyway.

So, he licked her nipple. Then moved to the other one. His hand left her side and moved down her body and he pulled down her sleep shorts and underwear then tugged his own boxers off. Moments later, he had her on her back and he was between her legs. He kissed back up to her mouth and kissed her deeply, firmly… claiming her.

Caroline knew that he wasn't good at expressing himself. She recognised that sex was the only form of physical intimacy that he understood, so she accepted what he wished for her to take from it. Caroline felt in how he touched her that he was trying to tell her in the only way that he knew how to – I need you, please don't leave me.

And she wasn't going to.

Ever.

So, she put her arm around his back and held him to her and with her other hand she cupped his cheek as she kissed him back. He lifted her knees up with his hands then slid inside of her and he moaned into her mouth at how she felt around him…

* * *

Damon's eyes fluttered open and the night before flooded back to him and his eyes widened in pure guilt and shame at the fact he'd done what he'd done. That he'd done it to _her_. He focused his hearing and heard that she wasn't there. He remembered that she was working at the office that day and he gulped…

* * *

Caroline wandered into the apartment just after 5pm and Damon wasn't there. She glanced into his room and saw that all of his stuff was gone. On his bed was a note that simply said 'I'm sorry' and she sighed – she wasn't at _all _surprised. She'd expected it, actually. She knew that he'd have woken up and in sobriety would have felt like crap for what happened between them. She knew that he would freak out. She actually _wasn't _hurt about him up and leaving her, because she knew that he'd be back.

So, Caroline continued on with her new life in Tijuana. She actually loved the place and didn't want to leave, so she went down to the office for the apartment and used the money she'd saved to pay for another months' rent as they'd been there for over two months, the third month's rent was due and she didn't want to have to look for somewhere else to stay. She worked hard with shifts at both the office and at the club almost every day, since she didn't have to entertain Damon, and she was saving quite a lot of money. She accepted a permanent position at the travel agent and they gave her onsite training, so that she could start working as a vacation specialist which gave her access to commission.

Nine days after he'd left, Caroline was asleep and at 2am, her phone rang. She woke up and sleepily answered without looking at the screen.

"Hello?" She answered and heard nothing then there was a small sniff.

"_Caroline?_" She heard Damon whisper and that woke her up the rest of the way.

"Damon? Are you okay?" She questioned concerned then she heard a small sob.

"_No._" He denied and her heart clenched at the fact he was clearly crying.

"Where are you?" She asked gently.

"_Downstairs in the car._" He admitted.

"Then come up." She encouraged.

"_Are you sure?_" He whispered and she knew that he was totally beating himself up.

"Yes, of course." She confirmed then he hung up. Seconds later she heard the front door open and close quietly then he appeared at her door as she never closed it and she saw him wipe his eyes. She lifted up the covers and he hurried over and he climbed in then buried his face in her chest and put his arm around her and she was alarmed that he was so upset. "What happened?" She asked concerned as she kissed his head and rubbed his back with one hand and he let out a sob.

"I'm sorry." He choked out. "I… I… don't know why I left you. I didn't want to leave. But I left. And I'm so sorry." He rambled upset against her chest and she only hugged him tighter as her eyes stung with tears because she _hated _to see him so upset.

"Shh, Damon. It's okay." She soothed. "It's okay. I understand why you left." She lulled softly.

"But you've done nothing but look after me and take care of me since we left Mystic Falls… and I…" He sniffed. She kissed his forehead then pulled him even closer into her and his arm was like steel crushing himself to her. "I wasn't using you." He sobbed and she nodded against him, hearing the despair in his voice at the thought of her maybe thinking that.

"I know." She agreed softly. "I know that you weren't using me." She soothed.

"How can you still be nice to me? After everything I've done to you… I keep doing to you." He sobbed and she sighed.

"Because as much as this might be hard for you to hear… I _know _you, Damon." Caroline began. "I know how you think. I know how you're going to react… I _knew _that you would leave." She disclosed and he looked up at her face and his eyes were wide, though puffy and his face was streaked with tears.

"You knew that I would leave?" He gasped shocked and she nodded. "Why?" He asked stunned.

"Because you're starting to need me, and you don't want to need anyone. When you're drunk, you let me see your vulnerability and you think that being vulnerable makes you weak. You're starting to like that I take care of you and you don't want to get used to it in case I leave you. You slept with me because it was the only way that you could tell me that you need me, you care about me and you don't want me to leave you." She explained and he looked kind of stunned that she _knew _those things. She moved her hand to cup his cheek and she stared into his eyes. "But what you need to know is that I will _never _leave you." She promised. "You can need me and be vulnerable with me because I will never hurt you. I will always be there for you. I'll be your friend and I'll care for you and take care of you. I'll protect you emotionally and make sure that nobody ever hurts you again. And the thing that you need to trust is that I am not doing this because I feel sorry for you, because I don't. I want to look after you because I care _so much _about you, no matter what you do. If you leave, if you sleep around, if you kill people, whatever. You'll always have me. I promise." She swore and he closed his eyes with guilt and tears fell down his face.

"I don't deserve you." He replied, his voice cracking.

"Yes, you do." She disagreed then kissed his forehead.

"I missed you so much." He sniffed and she nodded.

"I missed you too." She replied then pulled him into her again and he held her close.

They just lay there, her comforting him, him calming down after being so upset. Damon couldn't help noticing that he felt complete again with her there. Being wrapped around her just felt right. He felt… _safe_. As ridiculous as it was for him to feel safe because of a baby vamp, he couldn't deny the reality of it. She made him feel safe and he cared about her more than she could ever understand. It was almost a whole five minutes later when he broke the silence. He couldn't help telling her, because he needed her to know that it wasn't in vain. She wasn't unappreciated…

"I love you, Caroline." He whispered and she nodded. She knew that already.

"I know. I love you too." She replied and he sniffed at the fact she said it back and _meant _it. He couldn't remember the last time someone told him that and meant it…

* * *

The next morning, Damon stepped into the living room nervously unsure again as to how things would be between them after the night before. He _had _been really drunk – but not as drunk as he normally was now as he'd had to be able to kind of drive, so he definitely knew what he'd been doing and saying.

"Morning. What do you want for breakfast?" Caroline asked cheerfully (delighted that he was finally back because she'd missed him a crazy amount) as she made coffee and he swallowed. She looked up at him moments later because he hadn't replied. She saw the sad and nervous look on his face and she felt really bad. "Come here." She requested and he hesitantly walked over to her and stopped in front of her, watching her every move. She stepped up to him and hugged her arms around his neck and held him tightly. His arms wrapped around her and he nuzzled his face into her neck.

"I really am sorry." He whispered and she nodded.

"I know, but you don't have anything to be sorry for." She assured against his shoulder and he felt himself get a little emotional at that – she was still there... after all he'd done to push her away… she was still his friend regardless.

"I meant it." Damon disclosed quietly and she knew what he was talking about.

"I know." Caroline acknowledged. "I love you too." She said and his eyes closed at the fact she said it again. She pulled away, kissed his cheek then went back to pour the coffee. "Go get your dirty laundry before it stinks out your car." She quipped and he couldn't help cracking a chuckle at that. She was just so easy to be around.

"Okay." He agreed then hurried out of the apartment…

* * *

Five days later, before Caroline went to work, she and Damon were sitting eating breakfast burritos and Caroline was on her laptop. She decided to check her email and she scowled when she read one from Bonnie.

"What?" Damon asked, seeing her expression and she sighed.

"It seems that they've discovered if an Original is killed then every vampire from their bloodline dies with them." She muttered and his jaw dropped – the mere _thought _of her dying made him want to stake himself. That was his first thought. _Her_.

"Well… that's not good enough." Damon decreed and she looked at him curiously.

"Nothing we can do about it." She countered like it was obvious.

"We'll see about that. I don't think Katherine would just _allow _that." Damon smirked and she cocked an eyebrow.

"And what can Katherine do about it?" Caroline tested – she so did not want to see Katherine.

"Katherine knows a _lot _of witches. She might know one that can do something." He elaborated.

"Where is she?" Caroline checked hesitantly.

"No idea. But I'll call her and see what she says." He shrugged and Caroline nodded her acceptance – hoping that she wouldn't have to see the bitch who killed her ever again. "Also, I know a witch in California." He remembered surprising her.

"Are you going to go see her?" Caroline probed, taking a bite.

"Will you come with me?" Damon queried.

"I have work for the next three days." She reminded him and he frowned at the thought of having to be separated from her again.

"Why are you still working anyway? You've saved lots of money already." He pointed out and she shot him an amused look.

"Sure, but I also went and paid the rent for this place for another month, so a lot of that is gone." She countered and he looked kind of stunned at the fact he'd completely forgotten about the rent.

"Why didn't you say something? I would have paid it." Damon assured.

"It was when you were gone." She shrugged and he winced at that – they weren't talking about his absence or his breakdown or anything of the sort.

"I'll pay you back." He guaranteed and she rolled her eyes, understanding that he was doing the 'guilt' thing again. She didn't understand why nobody ever let anything go. She was definitely not the type to 'dwell'.

"Will you stop worrying so much? You'll give yourself high blood pressure." She quipped and he couldn't help cracking a laugh at that.

"That's not possible." He pointed out amused.

"Then I'll start calling you Stefan." She smirked and he scowled at the thought of her thinking about Stefan at _all_.

"Why?" He asked annoyed.

"Because _he _is the broody brother. You're supposed to be the fun and worry-free brother." She teased and he snickered in understanding, feeling kind of stupid for getting defensive.

"You make me worry." He admitted and she frowned.

"That is so _not _the emotion that I want to invoke in you." She mumbled and his head snapped up to stare at her, very interested in what she meant.

"Then what is?" He asked and she shrugged.

"I don't know. Happiness, fun, excitement?" She queried and he smirked.

"You do already invoke those." He confessed and she grinned instantly at the fact he'd basically just said that she made him happy.

"Good." She accepted pleased and he couldn't help the small smile on his face because he genuinely already thought that he'd be lost without her. She was the very best friend that he'd ever had.

"But back to the witch." He diverted.

"Just go see her then." Caroline shrugged. "Pick out what you want to wear and I'll iron them before you go." She instructed and he smirked.

"You totally are a little housewife." He teased and she giggled.

"You love it." She quipped and he laughed.

"Yeah, I kind of do." He agreed amused and she winked at him…


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own The Vampire Diaries.

A/N: So, I just got an anonymous review asking if I'm dead - I think that's kind of insensitive considering I haven't been well but whatever, I figured that I'd post something anyway. Honestly, I haven't been posting much because I'm fed up with working really hard on chapters and having people sending me flaming reviews and nasty PMs. It's just not worth it to write thousands of words for something that's supposed to be fun just to get nasty messages from people.

So, I will say it again and hopefully they will listen - if you don't like my writing or stories then don't read them. If you like Elena, read something else because I can't stand her and I'm never going to bend to anyone's opinion and support Delena - it disgusts me, _get over it _and go read Delena stories and stop trying to change me. I think Stefan is a prick most of the time. I think Bonnie's a judgemental bitch most of the time. I occasionally write Stefan or Bonnie as the bad guy because I think they suck most of the time. Sometimes I don't write them like that. Sometimes I give them the benefit of the doubt. But stop sending me messages asking why I make Stefan the bad guy - if you want to know why, go watch season 3 episode 1 - after seeing what he did to those two girls then put them back together in front of the TV... I just _can't _love Stefan anymore. I did love Stefan in season 1&2 but after that I just don't have it in me to forgive him because it disgusts me. So if you like Stefan stories where he's all that's wonderful, good for you and go read something else.

Fanfiction is supposed to be _fun_. If all you have to do with your time is write crappy reviews to hurt people then go out and get a life and leave me the hell alone.

For those of you who don't send me crappy reviews, none of the above applies to you and thank you so much for your continued support because you are really the only reason I haven't deleted my account and given up on fanfiction. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Just one left after this.

Note: Remember that I'm not following the show story line exactly so the time frame will be different.

* * *

Comfort

Chapter 6

* * *

Damon came back two days later and he walked into the living room to find a crying Caroline and he was instantly alarmed.

"What's wrong?" He asked concerned and she hurried over to him and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her and she sobbed into his shoulder.

"Klaus killed Tyler." She revealed and he sighed. He really didn't care about Tyler but he cared about _her _and didn't want her to be hurt.

"Why?" He examined.

"Bonnie said in her email that Klaus threatened to look for me and Tyler punched him, so Klaus ripped his heart out." Caroline sobbed and Damon was instantly alarmed at the fact Klaus was going to look for her.

"We've been in Tijuana for too long. We need to leave and go somewhere that Klaus _won't _find you." Damon directed and she pulled away to look at him.

"I thought that by leaving, he'd forget his little crush on me and everyone would be safe." She sobbed. "If he looks for me and finds you with me, he'll kill you." She cried and he shrugged.

"I don't care. I'm not leaving you." He vowed and her stomach fluttered. "I'm sorry that Tyler is dead but I do have _some _good news." He began.

"What?" She asked wiping her eyes.

"The witch I went to see severed my blood connection from my sire, which means that any vampires I turned are also severed. So, if the Originals die, me and any vampires sired by my blood, won't be affected." He explained and she looked surprised.

"But that's amazing." Caroline approved and he gave her a small smile.

"So, nothing will happen to you if they die." He guaranteed and she nodded.

"But what about Stefan?" Caroline tested.

"I called Katherine and told her about it and told her that the witch severed my connection to her and she said that she'll get that done too, which will then affect Stefan and any vampires she turned." He explained and she nodded. "But, we've been seen all over Tijuana and you have work records here. We need to get out of here." He reiterated and she frowned which made him chuckle. "We can always come back once they're dead, Blondie." He teased and she gave him a small smile.

"Okay." She agreed. "I'll pack up my stuff." She said. "Where are we going then?" She asked.

"Do you want to go down to Cabo?" He queried and she nodded.

"Yeah, I like Mexico." She agreed and he smirked – he liked Mexico too.

* * *

Caroline reluctantly quit her two jobs, but she compelled them to accept her back into them if she came back because she loved both of them regardless of the money. They got all of their things packed up into Damon's car, though it was a tight fit because both of them had bought tons of stuff in Tijuana, then Damon drove them down to Cabo. They rented a secluded beach villa under a different name, so that there was no record of them being there.

Four weeks after they arrived, Caroline was out at a nightclub with a couple of girls she'd met the week before. She came back to the house and let herself in and she heard Damon with a girl up in his room, so she took out her iPod and put her earphones in and played loud music and sat herself downstairs in the living room on her laptop as she browsed through the job listings in Cabo and the surrounding areas. She'd gotten used to working and was bored just sitting around all day in the house and there was only so much shopping she could do.

Damon escorted the girl out and was about to go back upstairs when he spotted Caroline in the living room with her earphones on and he felt truly _horrified _that she'd clearly heard him sleeping with someone else. He'd thought that she'd be out until three or four in the morning and it was only just after one. He felt within himself that he was no doubt just a constant disappointment to her and he positively _ached _considering he _knew _that she _wasn't _sleeping around – though, it's not like they were together.

Yes, they slept in the same bed every night and had done for months but they'd only slept together that one time and nothing else had happened. He hesitantly made his way into the living room and Caroline took out her earphones when she saw him and gave him a smile.

"Hey." She greeted and he was truly confounded that she was just so _nice _to him all the time.

"Hey." Damon grumbled – Caroline knew why. She knew that he didn't want her to hear it but she didn't see the big deal _and _she'd worn earphones.

"You know, the clubbing here is great." She grinned and he looked at her confused – she knew why. She knew that he'd been expecting her to say something about the girl.

"Then why are you back so early?" He grumped and she shrugged.

"The two girls I was with have work in the morning." She answered then her eyes went back to the screen.

"Are you going to bed?" Damon queried and she nodded.

"Yeah. Five minutes." She confirmed and he bit his lip.

"I'm going to go shower." He stated.

"Okay." She replied absently. "Remember the hamper's been moved to your bathroom." She reminded him and he was visibly surprised that she was giving him _no _crap at all – just reminding him to put his dirty clothes and sheets into the hamper to be washed.

"Yeah." He agreed. "Uh… can I still…" He trailed off and she looked up at him.

"Can you still what?" She asked curiously and he sighed and rolled his eyes feeling totally pathetic.

"Sleep with you." He finished his sentence and she looked at him confused.

"Yeah, obviously." She agreed in a tone that conveyed that he was ridiculous for thinking otherwise then she went back to looking at the laptop and he was continually shocked at just how _cool _she always was. About _everything_. He darted upstairs then took a shower and scrubbed his body so that there would be absolutely _no _trace of the girl that he'd slept with on him. He stuck his sheets in the hamper then by the time he went into Caroline's room, she was just getting her pyjamas on. She pulled her shorts and tank on then crawled into bed and he got in beside her then instantly put his arm over her waist and she put hers around his neck and cuddled him into her chest as usual. They always slept like that now.

* * *

About three weeks later in the morning, Damon wandered downstairs and found Caroline hanging up the washing on the washing line outside as it dried quicker under the sun. He watched the breeze ruffle her golden curls and his stomach fluttered at how insanely _beautiful _she was. He'd always known it but she really was truly breathtakingly stunning. He walked out to her and she gave him a smile then kissed his cheek – she did that a lot now and he kind of loved it.

"Morning." She greeted happy to see him – she was _always _so happy to see him.

"I love you." He blurted because he couldn't stop himself and she peered at him over the sheet that she'd been hanging up.

"I love you too." She replied amused at him just hitting out with that then moved over a bit and hung up the duvet cover.

"No, you don't get what I'm saying." He mumbled. "I'm _in love _with you." He disclosed and she giggled.

"I know." She replied amused and his jaw dropped. He was kind of stunned. She finished hanging up the duvet and it was the last thing so she picked up the washing basket and started walking inside. "Do you want a coffee?" She queried as she walked past him and he was still just gaping at her. She _knew_? Before _he _did? He hurried after her and found her in the kitchen putting on the coffee machine.

"You _know_?" Damon repeated shocked and she shot him a confused look.

"I know what?" She asked as she'd been busy thinking about a job and wasn't following.

"You know that I'm in love with you?" He elaborated and she looked surprised.

"Oh. Well, yeah. You have been for a while." She pointed out and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion – he thought about it and she was totally right. As usual. "Besides, you're like the most obvious person ever when you have a romantic notion for someone." She teased fondly.

"But… you said it back." He stated, ignoring the last part as he knew that already, and she couldn't help the amused look she shot him.

"And?" Caroline smirked.

"Well… did you mean it in the same way?" He asked doubtfully and she walked over to him and put her hand softly on the side of his face and he couldn't help leaning into it.

"Yes, I'm in love with you." She confirmed and he just stared at her while butterflies overtook his insides – he couldn't believe that she felt the same way back.

"Then why didn't you say anything?" Damon examined and she shrugged and took her hand back.

"Because you're still learning to trust me, we're still getting to know each other and it's too soon for us to be more than friends yet." She detailed and he watched her pour the coffee as he contemplated that.

"Why is it too soon?" He pushed softly as she got out a spoon to sugar the coffees.

"Because you're still hurt over Elena and Katherine. I'm still hurt by Tyler's death and my own insecurity issues. If we got together _now _it would be a rebound relationship and I don't want to ruin our friendship with that. You're too important to me." She explained and he conceded that she had a very good point.

"I understand what you're saying but there's something that I need to tell you." Damon started and she turned to look at him and nodded to him in encouragement and he took a deep breath. "Spending all of this time with you showed me that I was never truly in love with either of them." He admitted and she was surprised. "I didn't understand the reality of what love is before you. What loving someone without reservations truly means." He confessed and she gave him a small smile because that actually really meant a lot to her.

"I'm not going anywhere, Damon. You are where my life is, whether that's as your friend or someday more than that. Let yourself heal and I'll do the same then when we're ready, we'll be one of those sappy cliché vampire couples who fall in love and are together forever." She winked at him and he couldn't help a small laugh at that, though in truth, he wanted that with her more than anything.

"Promise?" He asked her and she smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I promise." She agreed and he smiled. "Now, what do you want for breakfast?" She asked and he smirked – all was _so _right in the world that morning…

* * *

Just over two weeks later, Damon walked into the house in the afternoon and couldn't hear Caroline. He wandered into the kitchen and found a note on the fridge.

_Found a job. They needed me to start today. I'll be home just after 5pm. Love you, Caroline XO_

Damon scowled at nothing in particular – she cooked, cleaned and took care of him. He did _not _want her working on top of that. He didn't think that it was fair. So, he looked around the kitchen for any indication of _where _she was working and eventually found the name of some recruitment company. He called the number and they told him that she was working the reception at a spa, so he got the name and address then hauled his ass out of the house to go find her.

Damon got to the spa and parked his car then hurried over to the building. He entered and saw her immediately behind the reception desk and she was babbling away on the phone in Spanish. He wandered up to her and she gave him a smile and held up one finger indicating that she'd be just a minute and soon she hung up.

"Hey." Caroline smiled pleased to see him. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Quit." He said to her seriously and she looked confused.

"What? It's taken me like nine weeks to find this job." She countered and he shook his head.

"You cook, you clean, you do all of the laundry, ironing, you go to the grocery store and you take care of me. You are _not _working on top of that." He stated and she blinked in surprise. He put his hand in his pocket then pulled out a credit card. "This is your own card for my account." He informed her then handed her the card. He'd gotten it weeks earlier, he just hadn't found the right moment to give it to her.

"I can't take that." She denied like he was insane.

"You don't let me do _anything_." He said to her deadpan. Caroline understood what he was really saying – he wanted to be able to take care of _her_ in some way and the only way he _could _do that was financially because she didn't need taking care of in any other aspect of her life. She was fine emotionally, completely independent, she very easily made friends _but _she did everything for Damon. She took care of every aspect of his life, she took care of him emotionally, she made sure that he always had blood, food, clean clothes, clean bed (not that he slept in it) and a clean house to live in. The only thing that she didn't do for him was look after him financially. "We might not be a couple in the traditional sense of it but we _are _a couple nonetheless, Caroline. If you work and don't let me do anything then this is completely one-sided." He stated and she sighed.

"Fine, I'll finish the day then quit." She mumbled.

"Why not now?" He pushed and she shot him a look.

"Well, a) because they don't have anyone else to take over and b) because I don't get paid if I don't finish the shift and I've already worked for like six hours." She remarked and he smirked.

"Fine. I'll pick you up at five." He remarked.

"Fine." She muttered and he shot her a grin for getting his way then left the spa and she rolled her eyes at him being such a cave man – though, she had no intention of quitting. She was just not going to tell him that. She _loved _working and so far, her job at the spa was _awesome_. It had tons of perks, the money was great and she got a share of the daily tips and since it was a luxury spa, the tips were _huge_. It wasn't so much the money, but the interaction with people that she liked. She loved Damon but he wasn't exactly social and she needed to be social sometimes.

* * *

Three weeks later, Damon came downstairs into the kitchen and found a note on the fridge.

_Went shopping. I'll probably be back just after 3pm. Love you, Caroline XO_

Damon was suspicious. He'd been getting these little notes every couple of days for the past three weeks and there was always a time on it. She was always 'probably be back just after' and it was either 3pm, 5pm or 7pm – so, he decided to go and check the spa. Just in case.

He jumped into his car then drove down to the spa. He parked in the car park then went up to the door and walked inside – only to find Caroline behind the reception desk and her eyes widened a little at the sight of him. He shot her a scowl then turned on his heel and walked straight out again.

"Wait!" He heard just as he was getting to his car and he turned around and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You've been working?" He asked her in disbelief. "Behind my back?" He asked hurt and she sighed.

"I've been using the card you gave me." She pointed out.

"That's not the point." He retorted irritated. "You've been lying just so you can go earn your own money."

"I'm not working for the _money_, Damon." Caroline refuted and he looked at her confused.

"Why else would you work?" He asked muddled and she shot him an apologetic look.

"Look, I adore you and you know that." She started. "And I accepted that you want to take care of me financially, so I've been using the card." She added. "But I don't go to school, I have no friends aside from you and I _need _social interaction." She disclosed and he was visibly surprised by her reasoning as he'd thought it was just a money thing. "I'm a very social person and I need to talk to people. Yeah, I met a couple of girls when we came here and hung out with them, but this is a vacation resort, Damon. They went home." She said. "At the spa, I get to talk to lots of people both face to face and on the phone, I get to use my Spanish so I won't forget it and I'm slowly making friends with some of the other girls that work there. I didn't mean to make this like something behind your back, but everyone has different needs and I _need _this. You disappear every day for a while because you need time to yourself and I accept that but _I _need _this_." She pressed and he sighed.

"Then why didn't you just say that before? Why lie?" Damon questioned.

"I didn't want to hurt you." She said sincerely and he knew that she meant it. He also understood where she was coming from because he was certainly _not _a social creature.

"Fine. Go work then." He muttered and she flashed him a grin.

"Really? You're not mad at me anymore?" She asked delighted and he sighed loudly.

"Think it's impossible to stay mad at you." He replied and she smiled. She stepped up to him, held his face in her hands then kissed him then pulled away and gave him a small smile again. "You _kissed _me." He said a bit shocked and she giggled.

"You know that I love you but a kiss is a _shock_?" She teased and he rolled his eyes with a smirk.

"No, but… you _don't _kiss me." He countered and she shrugged.

"Would you like me to refrain from doing so in the future?" She asked and he shot her a look.

"No, of course not." He denied like it was nuts and she grinned then leaned up and kissed him again. This time he kissed her back and pulled her closer. Moments later he deepened the kiss and let his tongue taste hers and he thought it was probably the best kiss ever. She pulled away moments later and she smiled. "So… why are you suddenly in the kissy mood? Just because you got your way as usual?" He questioned amused and she sniggered.

"No, because I just love you." Caroline answered and his stomach fluttered. "So… why don't you take me on a date tonight?" She put forward and he was visibly surprised.

"I thought you wanted to wait with the relationship part?" He asked her confused and she giggled.

"Wow, Damon. What's happened to you? One date doesn't mean a relationship. Could you sound more like a girl?" She mocked and he laughed loudly at her totally making fun of him.

"Think you're so funny, don't you?" He smirked.

"I totally do." She winked and he laughed.

"Fine, I'll take you on a date." He replied amused.

"Good." She smiled. "If it goes well, you might even get lucky." She winked and he looked surprised.

"Really?" He asked and she smirked.

"Make it good and you'll find out." She teased and he chuckled.

"I will." He guaranteed confidently and she smiled.

"See you tonight then, handsome." She bid then kissed his cheek and she hurried back into the spa while Damon was pretty sure that he just fell in love with her all over again…


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own The Vampire Diaries.

A/N: First of all, thank you so much to each and every one of you for the kind messages and reviews regarding my note at the beginning of the last chapter. You're all so supportive and motivating and you're the only reason I haven't ditched fanfiction completely.

Second, I know I'm being terrible with the updates but I genuinely haven't been well, so I'm updating when I can. I will get back to frequent updates as soon as I'm able to, I promise. I'm sorry for the long wait for updates, but at the moment, there isn't much I can do about it.

Third, yes, I know that I overuse 'chuckle', 'jaw dropped', 'blunt' and multitudes of other phrases. That's just _me_. Writing fanfiction is for fun alone. I don't make money on anything I write or get anything out of it other than enjoying writing and sometimes getting reviews, so if you don't like my writing, nobody is forcing you to read it.

Lastly, this is the last chapter of Comfort and I'd like to just mention before you comment on my inaccuracies in comparison to the show - the Ric part is changed because it suits me to do so and yes, I know that it's not what happened on the show and _that is the point _because the show killed my favourite bromance and I hate that.

So, for those of you reading this, I hope you enjoyed this brief look into what it might be like if Damon let someone in and I hope you like the conclusion.

And for the anonymous reviewer who regularly asks on other stories, yes, I will try to update Restart as soon as I can lol. I haven't forgotten about it.

On to the chapter...

* * *

Comfort

Chapter 7

* * *

Damon set up a table on the private beach in front of their house and lit candles, got food from her so-far favourite restaurant in Cabo and set it there. Caroline thought that was really sweet and they had a lovely dinner together with several bottles of wine. They walked down the beach to a little festival that was going on and he held her hand. They had cocktails and they danced and Caroline thought that it was the best date ever.

They went back to the house and went up to her room and Damon stripped down to his boxers as always – he'd had such an amazing time with her that he wasn't even thinking about the 'getting lucky' part. He would be equally content to just lie with her as always and go to sleep. He saw her strip down to her bra and underwear and expected her to put her pyjama shorts and tank on but instead she walked over to him and kissed him.

His arms went around her back and he touched her soft skin while he kissed her with all of the love he had for her. Her hands ran down his sides and he shivered at her touch. He was getting used to how affectionate she was with him and he loved it more and more. He walked her backwards until she fell onto the bed and he covered her with his body as he kept kissing her. His hands went to her back and he unclipped her bra then threw it aside while she pushed his boxers down. His fingers slipped into the sides of her underwear and he slid them down her legs then discarded them on the floor. He planted kisses on her cheeks and neck while he carefully lifted her legs up and angled himself. She leaned forward and kissed his neck and shoulder and she moaned softly against his skin when he pushed into her.

"I love you." He said against her neck and her hand threaded carefully through his hair.

"I love you." She answered and he smiled then kept kissing her and showing her how much he loved her.

Caroline felt the difference this time. The time before it was a drunken expression of need and worry and a deep urgency to show her how much he cared about her since he couldn't tell her the words yet. This time he was barely tipsy, calm and relaxed and was just showing her how much he loved her…

* * *

Damon's eyes fluttered open in the morning and he was kind of shocked by Caroline still being in his arms – it was the _only _time that he'd ever woken up with her still there.

"Morning." She greeted.

"Morning." He returned then kissed her cheek and she gave him a smile. "What are you doing still in bed? You're never still in bed when I wake up." He commented and she shrugged.

"I wanted to see how you felt about last night." She disclosed and he did understand where she was coming from – considering he'd up and left her the last time they slept together.

"Honestly?" He asked her and she nodded. "Honestly, I think it'll be hard to be just friends with you after that." Damon admitted and she thought about that.

"Well, do you still want to sleep with other people?" She queried and he shot her a look.

"No, of course not." He denied like she was nuts.

"Well… why don't we just keep going with being friends and add sleeping together to it." Caroline put forward and he cocked an eyebrow at her for the proposal.

"So… what's the difference between that and being together?" He examined.

"Well, our date was amazing and it was the best night ever, but I don't think we should actually _date _yet. So, why don't we be friends who have sex for a while and see how that goes?" She suggested.

"So, you want to slowly build up to being together?" He asked for confirmation and she nodded. "Alright." He agreed because he could see the point in doing that. "So, just for clarification – I can now jump you for sex whenever I want to?" He smirked and she giggled.

"Yes." She confirmed.

"Mmm, good." He approved then kissed her and rolled on top of her and she chuckled against his mouth. He got a little too excited with his movements and hitched her legs and thrust into her in one move and she hissed.

"Hey, watch where you shove that thing." She mumbled and he laughed in disbelief that she _actually said that_.

"What?" He asked amused.

"Will you relax? I'm not going anywhere." She stated and he chuckled then kissed her.

"Sorry. You just got me all excited with this whole 'jumping you all the time' thing." He smirked and she giggled.

"Fine." She accepted diverted then kissed him.

"I love you." He said against her lips and she wrapped her legs around him.

"I love you too." She said then he deepened the kiss and kept going but gave her a minute to get used to the feeling of him before speeding up…

* * *

Just over a month later, they were sitting at breakfast and Caroline was sipping her coffee as she checked her email.

"Another one from Bonnie." Caroline remarked absently.

"Are you ever going to email her back?" Damon queried curiously and she looked at him confused.

"One of your conditions was that I don't have contact with anyone." She pointed out and he rolled his eyes.

"Well, if you haven't noticed, I'm kind of crazy in love with you, so it's not like I'm going to ditch you." He countered and she sighed.

"I know… but I kind of don't _want _contact with them." She confessed surprising him.

"Why?" He probed.

"Because Bonnie's friendship comes with terms and Elena's a bitch." She retorted and he snickered at that. He did understand what she meant though, as he knew now that Caroline's friendship did _not _come with terms, she was the 'unconditional friend' type – and Damon couldn't help feeling really warmed by her assessment of Elena, understanding that she'd gathered that he'd left _because _of Elena. They never talked about Elena, he never told her what happened at the ball, she never asked him questions, she just let him deal with things at his own pace, assuring him that she would be there if he needed her. Damon had learned so much from his time with Caroline – he knew loyalty, love, trust, honesty, compassion and true friendship because of her. He was _never _going to let her go.

"Well, what's she saying?" He queried.

"Don't know yet." She said then clicked on the email. She read it and her eyes widened. "Oh my God." She gasped shocked.

"What?" Damon tested.

"There was another white oak tree." She informed surprising him. "Oh my God!" She exclaimed again only louder.

"What?" He pushed and she shot him a sad look.

"Alaric is the killer." She advised apologetically and Damon's jaw nearly hit the table.

"_What_?" He exclaimed in disbelief.

"His ring made him have like two personalities and his alter ego is killing the founders' council but in his normal state, he has _no _memory of it at _all_." Caroline explained and he looked truly stunned.

"Well, what the hell are they doing about it?" He probed irritated.

"Stefan locked him in the boarding house cell because apparently the same thing happened to someone called Samantha Gilbert and she killed herself." Caroline detailed and his jaw clenched.

"That's _it_? They have him locked up?" He questioned irritated and she nodded.

"We have to go back." She deduced softly and he sighed in annoyance because he knew that to be true too.

"Okay, but we have to find the white oak first before anyone knows that we're there. We can't have Klaus finding out that you're back." He stated and she nodded.

"How are we going to find the tree?" Caroline examined.

"The Salvatores dealt with all of the lumber for Mystic Falls, so there should be records of it in the boarding house." He mumbled. "But Stefan would smell me there." He muttered.

"How about this then? When we get back, you stalk Stefan and watch when he's out, I'll wear Elena's perfume and go into the boarding house, his senses aren't quite like ours after all of the years of bunny blood, so he won't smell me. You can tell me where those things are, then keep in touch if Stefan's heading back there." She suggested and he grinned at her.

"That'll work, sexy." He winked at her and she giggled.

"Then what? We find the wood, make stakes and kill one of the Originals?" She questioned and Damon nodded.

"We'll keep watch from a distance until there's an opportunity." He agreed and she smiled.

"Okay, and are we coming back here when they're dead?" She verified and he bobbed his head in agreement.

"I was thinking about buying this place. I love this house and I love living here with you." He began making her smile.

"Me too." She approved. "What about Alaric?" She checked and he sighed.

"Turning him is the only way to get rid of that alter ego thing." He opined. "Though, he'll hate me forever." He muttered and Caroline reached over and took his hand.

"I'll do it." She assured and he looked shocked.

"Why would you do that?" He asked confused.

"Because I love you." She smiled and he couldn't help smiling back at her every time she said that. "That and he killed my dad, so he'll find it difficult to stay mad at me because he'll feel guilty." She commented and he looked surprised.

"I'm sorry. I hadn't even considered that he killed your dad." Damon said annoyed with himself.

"Don't worry about it. I'll turn him then leave a glass of blood next to him so that he can't deny the temptation to transition." Caroline detailed shocking him.

"You don't have to do that. I can easily play the bad guy. I'm good at it." Damon countered and she nodded.

"But he'll need you to be his sire. He'll need to be able to trust you to teach him. He won't trust you if you turn him, so I don't mind doing it. I'd rather that he didn't die or kill anyone else." She differed and he saw the sense in that.

"Thank you." He said sincerely and she smiled.

"He's your best friend. I know you don't want anything to happen to him." She said.

"No, _you _are my best friend." He countered and she giggled.

"Aside from me." She smiled.

"Aside from you, he's my _only _friend." Damon pointed out and she shrugged.

"Then I better turn him and make sure it stays that way." She winked and he smirked.

"You're the best, you know that?" He smiled.

"I know." She chirped and he chuckled. "But we're not driving all the way back, right?" She checked sceptically and he snickered, seeing that she really wasn't up for being in the car for that long again.

"No, we'll get a flight." He refuted amused.

"Great." She approved.

"Let's go pack then." Damon bid.

"Yeah, about that…" She trailed off and he looked at her curiously.

"What?" He asked. Caroline stood up and walked over to the kitchen counter then hopped up on it.

"Before we go, I want to have sex on the kitchen counter." She smirked and he laughed.

"Have I mentioned how much I love you?" He asked amused as he wandered over to her.

"Yes, but I don't mind hearing it." She teased and he chuckled then crashed his lips to hers…

* * *

They arrived in Mystic Falls late that evening and they went straight over to the boarding house so that they could see if Stefan was there. Caroline had bought the same perfume Elena used at the airport and she had it in her bag. They checked the boarding house and Stefan was inside.

"He'll go out to feed." Damon whispered in her ear and she nodded.

"Follow him at a distance while I go inside." She whispered back and he nodded in return.

"Keep your phone in your hand. If I call, get the hell out of there." He directed.

"I will." Caroline understood.

They watched from a distance for over two hours in almost silence then the back door of the house opened and Stefan darted into the woods. Caroline pecked him a kiss on the lips, he gave her a smirk for that then ran after Stefan, keeping enough distance between them so that Stefan wouldn't notice Damon's presence. Caroline sprayed herself with the perfume then flashed into the house through the open back door. She hurried into the library then found the section that Damon had told her about. She opened the bag she had and grabbed lots of the record books then shoved them inside.

Less than two minutes later, Damon called and she ran at full speed out the front door and darted to the point where they'd agreed to meet. Damon appeared a minute later and he grinned at her seeing the full bag on her shoulder. He took her hand, put the bag on his shoulder then they ran to the foreclosure on the outskirts that they'd decided to sleep in. They lay in bed reading through all of the records for an hour and a half when Damon…

"Aha!" He smirked and she looked up at him then he showed her the page. She read it then chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"God, that's typical." She remarked in a dry and marginally entertained tone.

"How so?" Damon asked.

"The bridge that was going to kill the doppelganger is the only thing that can kill the reason the doppelganger is still alive?" Caroline smirked and he chuckled at the blunt blonde.

"Shall we then?" He flashed her a grin.

"Don't we need an axe or something?" She asked standing up and he chuckled and shook his head, tickled by the baby vamp's adorability.

"Well, my beautiful, we _are _vampires, you know." He smirked and she shot him a look.

"Yeah and if it was anything else, I'd agree with you but wood hurts like a bitch and I really don't want white oak splinters in my fingers." She retorted and he laughed.

"Fine, we'll go get an axe, Blondie." He relented amused and she rolled her eyes at him mocking her…

* * *

They cut off strips of wood, spent the night whittling stakes from it then armed themselves with them. They needed to take the Originals by surprise. Instead of going to bed, they went to Klaus' house to see how many Originals were still in town – only Klaus and Rebekah.

They went back to the foreclosure and talked through a plan. They decided that the best way to kill them was to not take any chances – they were going to stake both Klaus and Rebekah at the same time, just to be sure. Katherine had confirmed to Damon weeks earlier that she'd gotten herself severed from her sire's line which in turn would protect Stefan, so they were ready to go ahead with their plan.

They got a few hours' sleep then set out to watch from a distance again. They stayed together as Damon didn't want to let her out of his sight in Mystic Falls with Klaus still alive. They watched all day and found out that Klaus and Rebekah were meeting Stefan, Elena and Bonnie in the woods in the evening to 'talk'. They thought that might be perfect as the Originals would be distracted and nobody knew that Damon and Caroline were back.

So, they went back to the foreclosure, spent the day together in bed as it would still be dangerous, even though they were sure that their plan would work. When the time came for them to leave the house, they kissed, told each other that they loved each other, and then darted into the woods. They watched again from a distance as Klaus and Rebekah stood side by side and spoke to the others. They were trying to make some kind of deal with Stefan, Elena and Bonnie, though Caroline and Damon weren't paying attention to the details.

Caroline and Damon glanced at each other and nodded then flashed behind Klaus and Rebekah. Damon snapped Klaus' neck and Caroline did the same to Rebekah and they fell to the ground. Stefan, Elena and Bonnie's jaws dropped at the sight of them as they hadn't seen them in months. Damon pulled out a knife and a jar then slit Klaus' wrist over the jar and bled him into it.

"What the hell are you doing?" Stefan exclaimed.

"Shut up, Stefan." Caroline muttered and Damon snickered at her. Once the large jar was full, Damon screwed on the top then looked at Caroline.

"Ready?" He asked her and she nodded. They both pulled out stakes from their sleeves in a move too quick for the others to register then plunged them into the Originals' hearts.

"NO!" Elena and Stefan screamed then Klaus and Rebekah started to grey and Damon and Caroline stood back and watched as they went on fire.

"Why would you want to keep them alive?" Damon asked them cynically.

"They're still all connected! All the vampires from their lines will die!" Elena exclaimed then burst into tears as she looked at Stefan. "You just killed yourselves!" She yelled and Damon and Caroline glanced at each other amused.

"God, you're a drama queen." Caroline observed and Damon chuckled at the blunt blonde. "You seriously think we don't have that covered?" Caroline smirked and Stefan, Elena and Bonnie looked stunned.

"What do you mean?" Stefan examined.

"Damon got himself magically severed from Katherine so that there's no blood connection, so Damon and anyone turned by Damon's blood won't be affected." Caroline explained.

"But that still kills Stefan!" Elena yelled.

"Jeez, chill out." Damon rolled his eyes. "Katherine did it too, so Stefan's covered."

"Katherine?" Elena asked shocked. "Have you been with her this whole time?" She asked with extreme disapproval.

"No, we haven't seen her." Caroline shook her head.

"Wait a minute." Bonnie interjected, breaking her silence. "You've been with Damon the whole time since you left?" She asked in disbelief and they both nodded.

"Yep." Damon confirmed.

"Anyway, I have stuff to do." Caroline said to Damon and he knew what she meant. Alaric.

"Can't you get the rest of your stuff later?" He asked for show and she shot him a look.

"My favourite shoes are there." She countered and he chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"Fine, Barbie-doll." Damon accepted amused then she disappeared – it was Damon's job to distract them for just a little while until she text him that she'd done it.

"Where have you been?" Elena accused him irritated.

"Here and there." Damon shrugged.

"Not a word. You left without a word!" She yelled and he shrugged again.

"And?" He asked in a bored tone.

"You abandoned me!" Elena exclaimed and Stefan shot her a hurt look while Damon rolled his eyes – he no longer saw an ounce of attractiveness about her and couldn't understand why he ever had.

"Yeah, yeah, really don't give a crap." He retorted uninterested and they all looked shocked at his attitude towards Elena.

"You're suddenly back to not caring?" Elena reproached him hatefully and he smirked.

"Oh, I care, Elena. I care plenty, just not about you." He opposed sardonically and all three of their jaws dropped at the fact not only did he say that he didn't care about Elena but he admitted that he cared out loud.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked him furiously.

"It means that you were a Katherine rebound and it was actually never _you _that I cared about. You're that for Stefan too, he just doesn't know it yet." Damon detailed merrily and her jaw dropped while Stefan glared at him for that.

"How can you say that?" Elena gasped and he chuckled.

"You don't think it's remotely peculiar that two brothers screwed the same woman then both went after a woman that looks and behaves exactly the same as the first one? It's ridiculously obvious now that I've had time to think about it." Damon smirked and tears welled in her eyes.

"You don't mean that." Elena sniffed and he shrugged.

"You believe whatever you want, doppelganger." Damon winked and she looked stunned at his indifference while Bonnie scowled at him and Stefan just looked confused. "Anyway, I'm off." Damon informed grabbing the jar of Klaus's blood.

"Wait, where are you going?" Stefan stopped him.

"Barbie and I are leaving again." Damon answered.

"What?" Bonnie asked shocked. "Why? Klaus is dead." She said like it was obvious.

"Yes, but I don't like any of you. And she only likes you, Bonnie, but you're temporary, so she's skipping that." Damon snarked and they looked stunned.

"_Temporary_?" Bonnie asked him angrily and he shrugged.

"You have an expiry date. She doesn't." Damon quipped and Bonnie glowered at him for that.

"I'm not letting you take her away again." Bonnie glared and Damon snickered.

"I didn't take her away last time. She asked to come with me." Damon revealed and they looked stunned. "But ask her if you want." He encouraged mockingly. "She'll still choose to come with me regardless what you say." He vowed, shocking them that he not only believed that but expected it.

"Why would you even want Caroline to go with you?" Stefan asked confused.

"Because she is the best friend that I've ever had." Damon answered and they looked astonished. Just then Damon's phone beeped with a text and he read it. "Oh and we're taking Ric with us." He advised.

"No, you aren't." Bonnie glared and he smirked.

"Well, Barbie just turned him. You sure you want him to stay?" Damon taunted and their jaws dropped. "Later." He saluted then disappeared in a blink and they gasped in shock understanding that Damon had been distracting them on purpose.

"What the _hell_?" Elena yelled. "Stefan, you need to run to the boarding house and check." She instructed and he nodded then ran after Damon heading to the boarding house – though, Damon wasn't heading there...

* * *

Damon ran at full speed to the foreclosure where they'd agreed that Caroline would take Ric. He slipped inside and saw Ric lying on the couch and Caroline had drawn the curtains so that no light entered as his eyes would be sensitive when he woke up.

"You took his ring off first, right?" Damon checked and Caroline nodded then produced the ring. He cupped her cheeks and kissed her and she kissed him back deeply.

"So, what did they say?" She asked gently when she pulled away and he shrugged.

"Stefan brooded, Elena cried, Bonnie threatened. Same old, same old." He quipped and she snickered at him saying that.

"Bonnie threatened what?" She probed.

"She said that she wasn't going to let me take you away again." Damon smirked and she put her arms around his neck.

"You can take me away whenever you want." She smiled and his stomach fluttered.

"I love you, Miss Forbes." He whispered then kissed her and she kissed him back pleased.

"Did you feel anything seeing Elena?" She queried without removing her arms and he leaned his forehead against hers.

"Mmhmm." Damon confirmed making her frown.

"You did?" She asked biting her lip.

"Mmhmm. I felt like an idiot knowing that the perfect woman was right under my nose the whole time and I was busy chasing a boring rebound who is completely lacklustre and ugly in comparison." He detailed and she couldn't help cracking a smirk.

"The perfect woman?" She asked. "And who would this perfect woman be?" She teased and he chuckled then pulled her flush against him.

"Mmm, I'll give you a hint." He purred then kissed her again and she smiled against his mouth. "Can we stop pretending that we're just friends now?" He bid and she giggled.

"Are you sure that you're ready for me, Salvatore?" She smiled and he ran his hand down her cheek.

"I've never been more ready for anything." He admitted staring into her eyes and she smiled while her stomach fluttered.

"Then I'm all yours." Caroline agreed tenderly then Damon crashed his lips to hers and kissed her like the world was going to end, feeling like the happiest man on the planet because he finally got the girl…

And she was worth every minute of the several lifetimes he'd been waiting for her.


End file.
